


Daughter of the Stars

by tuee1230



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/F, F/M, Lucy has a secret, Natsu is a bit smarter, Plue is better here, Remake of their adventures, an au, tragic past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 12:04:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 52,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14401773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuee1230/pseuds/tuee1230
Summary: AU, where Lucy was practically a stillborn when she came into the world and her mom made a decision that would forever change her life. Then, eleven years after a great tragedy, Natsu meets a blonde who not only smiles like she's sunshine incarnated, but has a terrible secret that could put herself and others in danger.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Fairy Tail fanfic and I'm up to the sixth chapter. Will post them all today, so read them all and tell me what you think.

It was a beautiful night over the Heartfilia estate. The moon shone above, highlighting the buildings and plant life in an eerily white glow. While the outside gave off an illusion of a perfectly peaceful atmosphere, the happenings inside the mansion overlooking the estate told of the true tense and frantic nature.

Six-year-old Lucy Heartfilia was scared. As in, severely terrified and not at all sure of what was going on. One of her small hands were held tightly by her mother, were was roughly dragging her to an unknown location, seemingly unaware of how often her fast pace was causing her child to constantly trip.

She'd had previously been asleep, put to bed less than two hours ago. Then, she'd been abruptly awoken, her mom whispering for her to quickly dress and follow her to meet her daddy somewhere. She'd heard a small commotion downstairs, but when she inquired of it, her mom remained silent and continued to slip a simple white dress and brown boots on her. Then they had simply walked briskly to their destination, her feeble questions met with silence. Before long, they were outside, where she could see her father standing under the cover of a giant apple tree.

"Daddy!" Lucy exclaimed loudly before she was harshly shushed by her mom, who took a moment to look around, as though something was watching and listening for them. Then she pulled both herself and her daughter into the shadow of the tree. She pushed Lucy forward, so that she stood between her parents and spoke.

"How along are they, Jude?" She asked softly. Lucy was shocked to her an edge of panic in her mom's voice.

"They'll be upon us any moment now, Layla! We won't make it out undetected if we travel together. And we can't just leave Ms. Spetto and the other servants." Her dad's voice was gruff and ladled with sadness, so unlike his usual tone of lightheartedness and joy.

"Mommy, Daddy... w-what's going on? Are we going somewhere?" Lucy asked in a small, timid voice, afraid of her parents' mysterious nature, but more curious about what was happening at the moment. Why did her parents sound so scared? What was this talk of leaving? Lucy loved her home and her family, which included all the servants and workers there and she knew her parents were happy with it too. Why would they leave? Plus, the noises coming from the mansion were growing louder, till she could distinctly hear the sounds of shouting, but couldn't distinguish what was being said.

She watched, feeling dread and alarm, as her parents looked at each other, her mom seemingly pleading, while her dad just seemed... resolute. Like a decision had been long since made and there was nothing else to be done. After a solid minute of their staring contest, her mom sharply looked away, eyes hidden underneath her bangs. Her dad gave a deep sigh, then moved around to the other side of tree. Lucy made to follow him, but her mom's tight grip on her shoulders kept her in place.

Lucy looked up to see her mom's brown eyes looking back at her, with tears quickly welling up. Lucy gave a small gasp, ready to inquire about her mom's depressed status, but her mom turned her around and spoke before she could ask a single question.

"Lucy, do you remember that story I aways told you? About what happened the day you were born?" Lucy nodded, made silent by her mom's quiet tone. "And do you remember what you and mommy are, yes?" Lucy gave another short nod as she hesitantly answered.

"We're celestial wizards. We have the power to make many friends who we can call on whether we're in trouble or whether we just want to see them, as long as we have their keys. Celestial spirits are our friends." Her mom nodded, closing her eyes for a moment, before reaching down her waist to grab her key ring. "And you recognize these keys?" Layla asked softly.

Lucy nodded, excitement overtaking her reaction to the tense air. "Yeah, they're mommy's friends, Aquarius, Capricorn and Cancer. And you'll be friends, forever and ever!" Lucy smiled happily as she waited for her mom to confirm her statement.

"I'm sorry, Lucy." Her mom answered so quietly Lucy almost didn't hear her voice. "But after today, they won't be my friends anymore." Lucy went blank, not sure what her mother meant by that.

"Mommy, I don't-" Lucy stopped when she saw her dad coming back, holding a big black cloth over his shoulder and holding a rectangular brown bag with a long, thin strap in his hand. He put the bag down and turned to them.

"Lucy, come here, please." Her dad said, voice firm and leaving no room for any arguments. Taking one last look at her mom, who seemed to be trembling in sadness now, she walked the short distance to her dad. Up close, she could see the cloth was actually a hooded cloak and she watched as her dad crouched down to spread it out and fasten it around her. She stood there obediently as her father hid her outfit in the fold of the cloak and pulled the wide hood over her head.

From the corner of her eyes, she watched as he mom picked up the bag and hugged it to her chest, like it was her most prized possession. Her shaking had gotten worse. She started as her dad quietly moved from in front of her and moved next to her mom, placing one hand on her shoulder and wrapping the other one around her waist. Her lean his forehead against hers and Lucy watched as they closed their eyes in unison, seeming as though the end was near.

"Mommy, Daddy," Lucy inquired timidly, sounding more than a little afraid, "I don't understand what's going on." She watched as her parents separated a few seconds later, grave looks on their faces as they turned to her.

"Lucy, you're a very special girl. When you were born-" Layla's voice broke then, and after swallowing for a moment, she continued her explanation, "-when you were born, mommy had made a decision for you. A very horrible decision, in hinge sight, but it was for a very good reason. Now, this choice I made for you is coming back to haunt us." Her mom finished, sounding absolute, like she was pronouncing her own death sentence.

"Mommy, what-" Lucy started saying, but her father cut in before she could question anything.

"You're not like other people, Lucy. You were given a gift, a gift some very bad people have searched for a very long time. They've hurt people and done many horrible things to obtain this gift, but have never succeeded."

Her mommy started where he stopped, "We had hoped to protect you from this life, hope to give you as normal and wonderful life as we could. We truly thought we could protect you from that evil. But we couldn't and for that I'm sorry."

"W... What choice are you-" Lucy attempted to ask, but stopped when she saw the raging fire in her mom's eyes, seeming as a black stain on her mom's otherwise gentle face.

"I made a decision to save you, Lucy. And you must know that no matter what will happen to us next, know that I will never regret giving you a chance to live. No matter what, I would neither change nor curse my decision, because it gave me you, Lucy." At this, her mom's face and voice gentled as she reached up to touch her daughther's cheek. "I will never regret." She repeated softly as she caressed her little girl's cheek. Lucy, despite being more confused with each word coming out of her mom's mouth, couldn't help but close her eyes and lean into her mom's hand, taking comfort from it's warmth and softness.

"Lucy," Her dad said after a little while, "You have to leave us today." At this, Lucy's eyes snapped opened and she jerked slightly, removing her mother's hand in the process. "W-What?!" She exclaimed, turning first to her father, than back to her mother, waiting for one of them to laugh or refute the statement just made. But her parents only looked at her, eternal sadness shining in their eyes as they watched her reaction. "Daddy, what-"

"We wish there was another way, Lucy." Her mother said mutely, "Truly, we do. But those people, they're looking for you and when find out you're not here... they won't like that."

"This has to be goodbye, Lucy, because it's the only way we can protect you." Her father interjected, kneeling down until they were exactly face to face, a gentle smile on his face. "It's a choice we're making, so please don't be sad. It's for the best." He took a moment to squeeze her shoulders and then stood back up again, taking a few steps away from her, making him close to her home. Her former home now.

This, all of this sudden farewell and talk of choices, were truly scaring Lucy. Why were her parents telling her to leave? Why weren't they coming with her? If this was all for the best, why did this all seem so sad, like this was more than just a goodbye till someday? Why did this all feel so final? Lucy felt tears falling from her face as her mom moved her into the forest surrounding their property, the last image she saw being her father running to the mansion. When they were well within the cover of plant-life, her mom knelt in front of her, a reassuring grin on her face as she fastened the bag around her daughter.

"I know you're confused right now, and have so many questions you want answered, but there's just no time right now. Just know everything you'll need is in this bag and that this has to happen. You need to be brave now, Lucy. And always know that we love you and did everything we could to keep you safe." At this, her mom took off the silver locket she'd always worn as far as Lucy knew, and put it around her daughter's neck before hugging her tightly. Lucy angled her head towards her mother's neck and held her as tight as she could, breathing in her mom's soothing scent of cotton and daisies. After a long moment, Lucy felt her mom push her away.

"Don't follow," was the last thing she heard her mom say, before she ran back in the direction of the house. Lucy stood there for a long while, still unsure of what had happened or what was going on. Then, she heard it. The sound of horrible screaming and pleading tones coming from the direction of her home. She could see flashes of green and yellow light and could hear the distinct sound of something roaring.

Lucy decided to see what was going on, despite her mother's final words. Running as fast as she could with boots on, she managed to stumble her way to the edge of the forest, seeing the buildings of the estate. As she moved to leave the forest, there was a sudden sound of a big bang as well as a strong blast of wind that blew her and some debris back, knocking her against a nearby tree.

Then, Lucy knew no more.

...

When she finally woke up, it was still dark. The first thing she noticed was the pain flaring throughout her body. The second was that everything was quiet, almost eerily quiet. She could feel that parts of her body were held down by pieces of bark and drywall, effectively holding down her left arm and leg. She tried lifting up her head and flinched as she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head.

Trying desperately to ignore it so she could focus on her current predicament, she slowly pushed away the wood surrounding her, as well as shielding her from sight. After what felt like hours, she managed to climb out of the wreckage, finding she was a little further in the forest than she previously remembered.

What was she doing here..?

And then she remembered her parents' words and the sounds of utter panic. Gasping, she began running back to her home, when a furry hand with a tuxedo sleeve stopped her. Looking up, she found herself looking at the faces of both celestial spirits, Capricorn and Aquarius.

"Miss. Lucy, you mustn't go back that way," he said gravely, sad emotions hidden behind his sunglasses.

"Capricorn, something happened at the house. Mommy and Daddy were there, I-" She began to say, before Aquarius angrily cut in.

"Maybe you're feigning deafness, kid, so how about you read my lips. There's nothing here for you. You heard your mom, you have to go." She said angrily. Lucy flinched, more confused than ever.

"I-I, I mean that... there might be... " Lucy stammered as she tried to give an intelligent answer in the face of Aquarius's ire. Capricorn took pity on her and intercepted the conversation.

"Miss. Lucy, your mother gave me this letter in the event that she couldn't be here to explain things to you. I believe you should read it now. It may answer some questions." The goat spirit held out a medium-sized white envelope to the young celestial mage. Lucy hesitantly accepted, but still questioned, "But I don't understand, why can't I just ask my mommy to explain things. Why-" At this Aquarius growled, infuriation emitting through her very being.

"Don't you get it, you stupid brat!" She yelled, shocking Lucy into silence as she fearfully listened to the mermaid. "Your "mommy and daddy" are gone! They took you away from the house to protect you and gave their lives up for you. THEY. ARE. GONE!"

Lucy trembled int the wake of this revelation, feeling a cold, hard feeling settle in her chest as she struggled to keep breathing. Her panting began to quicken, leaving her lightheaded and partially numb. She felt disbelief and denial cloud her thoughts as she desperately tried to hold it together.

"No... NO! You're lying. My parents-"

"Your parents gave their lives to same you from the darkness that walks along this earth. They knew what the results would be and took many actions to ensure your safety and wellbeing. I'm sorry, Miss. Lucy, they truly are gone." Capricorn confirmed solemnly, sounding a century old as he delivered the news. Lucy could only shake her hand, refusing to accept the truth, refusing to believe this was really happening.

"You're wrong... YOU'RE WRONG!" She exclaimed as she broke away from Capricorn's hold and ran forward, determined to see her home and her parents. Needing to see the spirits were wrong, that it was all a lie. Ignoring Aquarius's and Capricorn's cries, she pushed aside the last of the wreckage blocking her view and looked to see... an absolute mess.

Where her house used to be was now a mess of dirt and boards. Little patches of fire were spread throughout the area, with only a few spaces clear of debris. As far as Lucy could tell, there was no one around, nor were there evidence of anyone ever living here.

Still refusing to except what was right in front of her, Lucy slowly looked around, looking for someone she knew, anything that had been salvaged. Any of the servants she considered members of her family, her actual family members. Anyone. After a few hours of turning over boards of wood and looking under every rock, Lucy still found nothing.

"No... NO! Mommy! Daddy! WHERE ARE YOU!?" She cried, agony coursing through her as there was still no reply, still no indication of life. It was like everyone she'd ever loved were gone. For good. She dropped to her knees as fat tears trailed aimlessly down her cheeks, feeling as though the world had ended. Or, more accurately, her world.

As she wallowed in despair, she felt the presence of two being coming near her. Without looking up, she could tell it was Aquarius and Capricorn. The only people, besides Cancer, she had left.

"Miss. Lucy," Capricorn said, voice graver than ever as he spoke, "I'm so sorry." And it was than, after that sincere apology, that it finally clicked for Lucy that this was it. She had lost everything. And it was than that she let loose a loud, grief-riddled scream.

...

_5 years later..._

Lisanna had thought of many ways she could die, having grown up mostly on the run due to people's ignorance, than having the opportunity to go on life-threatening missions. But she'd honestly never figured it would be because of her older brother.

She dazely looked up at her big sister as she worked over her, fiercely attempting to save her. She could dimly hear Elfman in the background, lamenting his undisciplined state's actions. She chose to refocus on her sister who was switching between muttering over her and pleading with her to hold on.

But she couldn't. Lisanna could feel herself slipping away. Like something was sucking her into another direction and she couldn't stop it. She could only watch as her sister disappeared from her vision, and all she saw was a mass of green and black swirling around her. She could feel herself floating through the mass, a burning on her arm where her guild mark was. She closed her eyes as she tried to bare the intense sensations.

If this was what the afterlife, she wasn't very impressed. All around her was nothing but the dark color and sound of winds roaring past her. She didn't understand what was happening or what had become of her siblings. She'd always thought they'd be together forever, but it seems as though fate had other plans.

And then suddenly, Lisanna felt something roughly grab her arm. Her eyes snapped open to see a pale hand holding her wrist. She looked up to see the owner and gasped.

A figure, made anonymous by the black cloak she wore, floated in front of her, keeping her anchored in this mysterious vortex. She couldn't see any other distinguishing features on the person, for the cloak hid her well.

"W-Who..? Who are you? Where are we? What's going on?" she exclaimed, scared of this situation and now the intent of this faceless stranger. The stranger gave no answer, but simply tighten their grip on her. Lisanna watched, astounded, as the figure began glowing a golden color, like the shade of the sun. She covered her eyes as the glow became too much for her eyes.

And then, the sound of the wind was gone. Hesitant, she opened her eyes to see... her home. The guildhall, Fairy Tail, in front of her, exactly like the last time she saw it. Only, the lights were on due to it being nighttime, but the last she checked it had been early afternoon.

But the time didn't matter, the point was she was home! She turned back to the stranger, who stood in front of her, only about a head taller. She didn't know why she saved her or even how to thank her for bringing her home.

"I-I... I mean-" Then suddenly Lisanna heard a commotion in the guild. Natsu, she told herself with a smile. Then Natsu suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking hopeful, like the sun came out for the first time in years.

"Lisanna?" He asked, looking like he was seconds away from crying. Then he noticed the hooded person next to her and his demeanor changed becoming defensive and gruff.

"Get away from my friend!" He yelled, running towards them, fist raised in the air as he prepared to attack.

"Natsu, NO! Don't-" But then the hooded stranger sprang into action. The last thing Lisanna saw was a flash of silver and then he or she... was gone. Like they've never were there.

"Wait!" She yelled, futilely trying to chase after her mysterious rescuer. She never got to thank her or find out who she was. "Wait," she whispered, regretful she never got to have the kindness reciprocated, to this stranger who'd brought her back to her family and friends.

...

A few miles away, a blond-haired girl stood in the forest behind the guild watching the white-haired girl while her mermaid friend lectured her.

"What the HELL were you thinking?! Do you not understand how much damage you could have caused yourself had you FAILED this task?!" Aquarius fumed, furious beyond measure that her summoner would take such a risk. "Oh, when we find a place to stay, I'll drown you three times so you'll think twice before committing such a stupid, reckless-"

But the golden-haired girl wasn't listening. All she could see was the white-haired girl, this "Lisanna", being surrounded by the other white-haired children she'd seen with her before. The older girl especially was hold her tight, tears visible even from here. And the little girl hiding in the trees couldn't help but smile at such a heartwarming view of a loving family.

...

_6 years after..._

"I have a special assignment for you, Natsu," Makarov declared. Natsu sat in front of him, pouting at the current circumstances.

He'd been in the middle of a fight with Ice-brain when he'd accidentally burned the sign off one of the nearby buildings. And while Gray got to work on the sigh as punishment, Gramps had said he had an important mission for him, which Natsu interpreted as BORING!

He thought about sneaking out a window when a giant fist bopped him on the head. "Pay attention, brat, because this is important!" Master yelled, as he retracted his hand and went back to pacing, deciding how to explain this while Natsu rubbed his pounding head.

"The magic council has requested that all guilds be on the lookout for a certain mage. They've asked that we find her and keep her safe for the time being." Natsu scoffed in the wake of this explanation. "What makes this random person so special anyway? They destroy more things than us?" Natsu asked, sounding completely disinterested.

"No, Natsu" Makarov answered gravely, "it's because she is target of many dark guilds. There's even been talk that the dark wizard, Zeref, is after her." This got Natsu's attention completely. The whole guild had been given a rundown of who Zeref was and all the demons he's created. He was pretty sure Erza had mentioned something about one of them...

"I'm entrusting you on this task, Natsu. Find this girl and bring her back as quickly as you can. I don't need to tell you that it's of upmost importance, considering who is itching to find her. The last sighting of this girl was near Hargeon, around the forest to the west."

"You can count on me, Gramps!" He shouted happily, ready to start his new adventure. "What's her name, anyway?"

"Her name," Makarov replied, " is Lucy Heartfilia."


	2. Chapter 2: First Encounters and Difficult Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now, here's the moment Natsu and Lucy meet, along with a few slight changes.

_She was running, faster than she'd ever had before. She resisted the urge to turn back, to even peek over her shoulders, lest the scene behind her be branded in her brain permanently. It was hard enough to forget the things she'd already seen as it was._

_Tears freely fell down her cheeks as she rushed into the forest. Wayward branches and bushes continuously smacked her skin and ripped her clothes, yet she just kept on running. It felt like it was the only thing she could do now, run._

_Eventually, she tripped over her own feet and landed roughly on the ground near a steep hill. She couldn't stop herself as her momentum brought her rolling down, dirtying her clothes and roughing up her appearance. She ended up on her back, laying on a grass floor and staring up at the trees that covered the moonlight above._

_Nothing mattered now. She was numb, the sadness overtaking her as she aimlessly observed the scene above her. She didn't have the strength to get up, the inclination to think about the future or her survival. There was no one to talk to, no one who she could love. Everything she cared for, the people who made her life worth living, were gone. And all that remained was the broken form of the house she once lived in. There was nothing left._

_For the first time since the day she was born, Lucy Heartfilia was alone._

...

Deep within the forest leading to Hargeon, carefully hidden behind carefully placed bushes and overhanging leaves, lied a sleeping girl, her head resting on a brown shoulder bag. She had waist-long, unruly blond hair that was tied up into two pigtails with black hair ties and had pale, smooth-looking skin. As of now, she was dressed in a light purple top with frilled sleeves. The purple shirt stopped just before her hips, exposing just a bit of her midriff for the world to see, and on her hips, was a sky-blue skirt, flowing, layered and almost-floor length, a small packet attached to the side. Her feet were bare and laying beside her right arm was a white fox-like dog, resting peacefully next to her.

After a few moments of resting, the girl's eyes fluttered opened, revealing her big, chocolate eyes. She took a moment to look around, noting the rays of sunlight leaking through the cover over them, then decided now was a good time to get up. She slowly rised from the forest floor, delicately stretching her arms and giving off one final yawn to chase the sleep away. After a few moments of blinking up at the sky she could just barely see, she turned to her small companion.

"Plue," she implored softly, trying to slowly rescue him from the arms of Morpheus, "Plue, wake up." It took a solid minute of shaking before the creature finally awoke, stretching it's back up like a cat while giving off a big yawn, turning to the girl with a greatly unimpressed look. He was an impressive-looking creature, about as tall as her knees and having fur as white as snow, aside from the very tip, which was a dark blue. It was also apparent he hated early mornings, judging from the almost accusatory look he was sending the female.

"I'm sorry," she said, a light laugh in her voice in the face of her friend's ire at being woken up from sleep, then she sighed and got up, walking over to a small bundle of bushes. She carefully pushed it to the side, looking out to see the bustle and hustle of the nearby town, albeit distantly, her outfit flowing behind her as the wind blew past.

"Plue," she said wistfully, a soft smile on her face as she looked at the citizens' activities, "I had a feeling about today." That got her friend's attention, forgetting his annoyance in the face of the topic of the girl's talk. Waving his thick long tail, which reached halfway above his head, he walked over to her and sat next to her. She sighed again as she sat down, obscuring her view of the town.

"I... I've been having these dreams, lately," she confessed, looking down with half-lidded eyes and a small frown on her face. "About fire and crossroads. And today I just felt like... something big will happen. Something good, I think. Something that will change my life forever, at least." She told, voice very quiet as she divulged in her dreams.

She added with a laugh, "I'm not sure where I should go from here. Whether I should follow this feeling or avoid it completely, and take my chances in another town. What do you think, Plue?" She turned to see her dog, whose black eyes stared at her with such an intensity unlike any a normal animal should be capable of. Finally, he simply crept onto her lap, making himself comfortable as he prepared to sleep again.

The girl gave off another twinkling laugh as she scratched behind his ears in gratitude. She had long learned how to read his actions and had gotten his message. He was telling her to stay, see where going into town and finding where this feeling would take them, and she completely agreed with him. She'd been through situations like this before and knew it was better to follow her instincts more often than not. But it was nice to have another's opinion match her's.

"Thanks, Plue," Lucy said softly, as she smoothed his fur gently before leaning over to dig her head in his back, closing her eyes. Five more minutes of sleep never hurt anyone.

...

"Ugh, trains are the worst!" Natsu groaned as he walked dazedly, desperately fighting the urge to toss his cookies as he continued. He was wearing his usual attire of a black vest with his white harlem pants, the scaly white scarf from Igneel securely wrapped around his neck. His red guild mark out in the open for anyone to see on his right shoulder.

"You say that everytime, Natsu." He heard two laughs at his expanse as they walked, one loud and obnoxious, the other quiet and kind. The three walked through Hargeon, men on a mission. While, for the most part.

Deciding to distract himself from his swirling stomach, Natsu thought back to what Gramps had told him...

_"Not much is known about this girl. No family or skills, nothing. They don't even know exactly what she looks like. But she has been confirmed as very powerful, seeing as every dark guild we know of has been chasing after her. There's even been talk she went up against the Oración Seis, more specifically their celestial mage, Angel. Her name has been mentioned throughout many bars and guilds, which is how the council even knows it._

_"Due to her continued evasiveness of the guilds and such, it's been deduced that she has no desire to be used for any sinister purpose, but seeing as she is constantly hunted, we've theorized she's not sure who she can trust, leading her to trust no one. What a lonely life this girl must lead." He'd sighed in sympathy._

_"It's very important that you not only find this girl, but convince her to join a guild, preferably Fairy Tail. That way, she has an affiliation and she can be better protected. Who better to convince her of Fairy Tails' good intentions and virtues, then you?"_

He came back to the present when a pale hand persistently waved in front of him. He turned to his female companion, annoyed at being interrupted from his thoughts, "Lisanna, I was thinking." He whined pitifully. His white-haired friend gave a small giggle as she teasingly replied, "Did it hurt?", mischief sparkling in her eyes.

Natsu huffed as they both had another laugh at his expanse. He shot a small glare at his short-haired friend, who was wearing a light blue tank top with white crossed straps, along with a white sarong that showcased her white member stamp on her left thigh. "First of all, it wasn't that funny! And two, why did you follow us here, anyway, Lisanna?" He asked, bits of anger in his voice.

At that she sobered, looking pensively looked up, staring thoughtfully up at the sky. "You know why." She said quietly. Natsu felt his anger evaporate as he indeed recalled the reason why.

_"Natsu, Master said you and Happy were going to Hargeon tomorrow, is that true?" Lisanna said breathlessly. She spent the last minute banging on his door like a maniac till he'd finally opened it, revealing his friend looking as though she had ran all the way to his house._

_"Yeah, so what?" He replied nonchalantly, sounding like he was already bored of the conversation._

_"There's been talk... rumors that a hooded figures was lurking around there. A mysterious person that never shows their face and yet, has been repeatedly seen near the forest. I just... I need to see if it's... him."_

After that reminder of the day they'd all almost lost her, Natsu couldn't deny his friend. She been obsessed with finding the mystery figure, whom she would stubbornly claim was a guy, and thank him properly for rescuing her from the void she'd been trapped in. And Natsu, who was on his own quest to find someone from his past, had promised he'd help her find him. If Mirajane didn't find him first.

Suddenly, Natsu's ears pricked up as he heard a conversation nearby:

"Isn't Salamander amazing?!" One girl gushed giddily, "He's even more impressive than the stories say!" As Natsu listened around, he heard many talk about this "Salamander", mostly from girls, who was located in the middle of town. But the only Salamander he knew, excluding himself was...

"Igneel?" He questioned lowly, looking mystified in the face of possibly locating his dad. Lisanna and Happy startled in the face of that name. "Natsu, what..?!" Happy began to ask before he was grabbed by Natsu, who also grabbed Lisanna's hand as he sped quickly to the center of Hargeon.

"You hear that? I think dad's here!" he exclaimed excitedly as he ran to see this phenomenon that had everyone talking.

...

Lucy walked down the pier in brown combat boots, a cheerful smile on her face as she practically skipped through town, her brown bag swinging on her right side with each step. She always loved to come into town, taking great pleasure from the view of the ocean as well as the shops and people around her. Beside her, Plue was on the side closer to the water, dutifully on high alert as he looked around with his black eyes. Seeing how she didn't understand where the feeling was leading her at this time, she decided to explore the city of Hargeon while the day was young.

She tended not to notice how many eyes she caught on the many occasions she went out in public, but she had a proneness to enthrall people, men her age and older especially. Her overall appearance silently invited them to accompany her. It was only the feral looks of her little companion that acted as a repellent to any advancements. Lucy, however, was too distracted by her anticipation to notice Plue's hostile actions or any captured attention. Her instincts had acted up, just as she had been thinking of leaving.

Lucy detested saying in one place for too long. She had learned years ago to never get comfortable in one place. And, having already spent a month in Hargeon, she'd concluded it was time to move on.

"Perhaps my feeling is meant to point out the next direction of my journey." She thought aloud, while making her volume high enough for Plue to hear her speculations. She looked up at the sky, closing her eyes as she felt the pull of the ocean breeze and heard the sound of the activities around her. Since she was six and on her own, she'd developed the lifestyle of a nomad, determined to never be caught off guard. Finding safety in wildlife, rather than the cities around her, and moving on before she could stay a little too long in her current environment. She never knew who was watching her...

As a rule, she kept mostly to herself and refrained from making any deep connections. Only lending a hand and making conversations now and then, but never anything long-termed. She'd figured out she was better off alone. Just then, she heard the sound of screaming and quickly located three teenage females standing nearby, all looking as though they'd won the lottery.

"Can you believe he's here?!" one girl screamed, sounding as though she could jump to the moon by the power of her happiness.

"I know, the great wizard Salamander! You think if we beg, he'll give us an autograph?" another girl questioned excitedly.

"Let's find out!" The last one screamed, and they all ran off like their butts were on fire, vanishing in a matter of seconds.

"Salamander?" Lucy questioned, still thinking out loud. She turned to her smaller and fluffier companion. "Do you think that's where my path is meant to go?" She inquired of him, waiting patiently for his response. After a moment in which he seemed to deeply consider this turn of events, Plue simply looked up at her with his intense black eyes.

Nodding resolutely, Lucy scooped her fox up, cradling her little friend in her arms. "Then let us go meet this famous wizard." She declared loudly, hurrying forward to catch up to those girls. After a few minutes of walking, she could clearly hear hysterics and yells of affection in the distance. Soon, she found a enormous crowd of young girls, all about her age, standing around and clearly fixated on something.

She looked through the crowd to see a tall man with weirdly styled, purple hair, wearing a cape he repeatedly twirled as he made numerous poses and cloying gestures. Despite not seeing any reason to find him impressive, Lucy could clearly see how captivated his female audience was, made apparent by the little hearts replacing their eyeballs and the assortment of squeals projecting from his spectators.

Lucy couldn't understand the appeal. His looks and magic weren't very impressive and his stances were awkward and flashy. This is the Salamander? The person I've been getting feelings about? she questioned just as the man known as "Salamander" noticed her. He did a visible double take, a look of utter astound replacing his prior cocky smile. Then, a strange smug smile appeared on his face as he raised his hand to her field of vision.

"What..?" She started to ask when she finally noticed the charm on his finger, clearly wrapped around his finger. Then she understood. The women around him were affected by the charm, and now he was attempting to use the same technique on her. Fortunately, the level of magic emitting from the object and the person were no where near enough to have an effect on her. She could feel Plue shifting in her arms, growling in anger at the attempt to control her. Lucy began scratching behind his ears, attempting to calm him down. She knew if Plue got angry enough, he would decimate this Salamander in the blink of an eye. Lucy also noted the wizard himself seemed affronted in the face of his failure to enchant her.

Just then, a pink haired teenage with a white scaly scarf jumped through the crowd, a big smile on his face as he walked towards the Salamander. "Igneel, you big jerk, is that you?" He shouted as the man he was addressing looked at him with blunt confusion. In the next instant, the newcomer himself became confused, staring at the man with a clueless look on his face.

"Who the heck are you?" He asked, managing to sound confused as well as apathetic.

Lucy watched in quiet fascination as the boy was beat up not once, but twice by the crowd of women in retaliation of his putative offenses to Salamander. She stood to the side as the famous wizard and his horde of bewitched women left the man in a trampled state. Soon all that remained was the boy, a blue cat that was looking just as trampled as the boy and a... white haired girl, who was too busy laughing to help the boy.

She stared at the girl, hardly daring to believe it was her. Was she... is she the..? She shook her head as she made a new decision to find out more about these newcomers to Hargeon.

...

"What the heck was that about?" Natsu complained, glaring at the retreating remnant of the violent females. Happy was standing next to him, having been caught up in the scuffle and Lisanna was too busy doubled over in laughter to answer. Just as he was about to get up, a shadow appeared over him.

"Are... you alright?" A soft, but warm voice asked him. He also noticed a hand in front of him, ready to help him up. Grabbing her soft hand, he looked up as he spoke.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, la..." Then Natsu froze as he saw his rescuer from the ground. It was a girl, and a pretty one at that. Natsu may be oblivious to members of the other sex most of the time, but he wasn't dead. Even he could recognize a nice-looking female. The wind was blowing her hair and clothes and the sun was hitting the back of her head, giving her an almost... ethereal appearance. Also... there was a fox in her other arm! The girl pulled him up in one tug, a small smile and a warm look on her face as she helped him to his feet.

For some reason... Natsu couldn't take his eyes off of her. Then he heard Lisanna's, "I'm sorry Natsu!",laughter still evident in her voice as she stood next to him, Happy copying her a actions as well. At Lisanna's voice, he finally snapped out of it. While no longer immobilized by this girl's looks, he still felt like there was something strange and different about her.

"Hello," The group turned back to the girl, whose eyes were closed with mirth as she proceeded, "I'm Lucy and this is Plue," she introduced, indicating herself and her fox. "Would you like to join us for lunch?" Lucy asked. The three stared at her in blatant confusion before sharing looks with each other. They couldn't understand why someone they'd just met wanted to help them or why she was petting a small white fox who looked at them like he wanted to ground them all into dust.

"Uh, not that I'm one to turn down a free lunch, but... why exactly are you inviting us?" Natsu asked, suspicion coloring his tone. The girl, Lucy, merely gave a small laugh, opening her eyes to reveal her sparkling chocolate orbs. "You really helped me with that man, and I'd hate to repay your kindness with nothing." With that, she moved down the streets of Hargeon cradling her pet, clearly expecting them to follow her. After another glance among the group, they saw no harm in joining her for some food.

"So, what are your names?" Lucy asked as she gracefully settled in the booth of a small diner, making the rest of them as clumsy as newborn giraffes as they followed her lead.

Natsu quickly jumped to answer. "I'm Natsu and the blue cat is Happy. And this is Lisanna." He gestured to everyone as he introduced them. Lucy nodded with acknowledged, then told them to order whatever they would like, as she'd pay for everything. While Lisanna was quick to claim that wasn't necessary, Natsu and Happy jumped at her offer, ordering everything on the menu the minute the waitress approached them.

"You shouldn't have said that," Lisanna cautioned the girl, looking embarrassed as Natsu and Happy dug into their food as though they were both wild animals who hadn't eaten in a year. "Natsu tends to eat like there's no tomorrow and I'm pretty sure that order was just a warmup." At this, Lucy simply laughed, shaking her head in amusement. However, her fox looked unimpressed, watching the boys eat as though they were dirt under his feet.

"So, Lucy," Lisanna began, carefully picking at her roasted duck as she began the conversation. "What did you mean when you said we helped you before?" She asked hesitantly. However, Lucy was quick and more than happy to answer, putting her fork down as she'd been eating a piece of apple pie.

"Oh, that Salamander mage was trying to use a charm on me. And Plue didn't like that. He probably would have attacked the Salamander had you not shown up." She explained, taking a moment to smile at Natsu, who was too distracted with filling his stomach to notice the conversation, then put a plate of food in front of her white pet. Both girls were careful to avoid any bits of food headed their way.

"So what brings mages such as yourself to Hargeon town?" Lucy questioned. Natsu managed to stop eating long enough to shoot her a look. "How'd you know we're wizards?" He interrogated in turn. Lucy waved the question away, absentmindedly stroking Plue's head soothingly. He was still giving the group the stink eye despite devouring the chicken wings Lucy had presented him with.

"Oh, I can detect your magic. There's plenty coming off of you three, you especially Natsu." She answered, taking a moment to give him another closed-eye smile. "You three are from Fairy Tail, yes?" After a few moments of staring strangely at her, Natsu shrugged as he replied her earlier and current inquisition.

"Yeah, I was originally sent here on a mission Gramps gave me, but when I heard about this Salamander guy, I thought Igneel might be here. Guess not though." He gave another shrug as he dug into a chicken drumstick with great vigor.

"Oh, you're looking for an old friend?" Lucy asked. "Anyway I can assist you?" They could see the girl was eager to help with their quest. Natsu crossed his arms, posture screaming his disappointment. "Unless you know a dragon, I doubt you can help, lady." He grumbled, slouching forward as he was reminded of the unsatisfactory results of his search for Igneel today. Another dead end, it seemed.

"Oh, you friend knows a dragon?" Lucy responded, looking confused as she tilted her head to the side. Natsu shook his head as he spoke slowly, like talking to a little kid. "No, Igneel is a dragon. And he's not my friend, he's my dad."

Lucy stiffened as Natsu mentioned his affiliation with this "Igneel", a reaction that didn't go unnoticed by the mages. They watched in surprise as Lucy blink rapidly, eyes suddenly glassy and dazed, like she was seconds from bursting into tears. They were shocked to see how she tremble slightly, tilting her head down so that the cover of her bangs hid her eyes. "Hey, lady, you okay..?" Natsu asked, absolutely clueless about what was distressing the girl.

Even Plue looked up from the bones of his meal he had finished devouring, making a small croon as he turned his intense eyes to Lucy. After a few moments of silence, suddenly Lucy looked up so abruptly, her hair bounced an inch over her head, a sunny smile back on her face. "I'm sorry, what were we talking about?" She asked with a little laugh in her voice. The three mages looked at her, not sure what just happened.

"Uh, what was that about?" Happy asked. "Why'd you start acting all weird all of a sudden?" Lucy laughed again, not at all offended by Happy's description of her. "Just remembering something I'd much rather forget." She replied as she looked down at the table with lidded eyes and a sad smile. Before Lisanna could question her further, Lucy suddenly turned to her, a big grin on her face.

"So, Lisanna, did you come to Hargeon to help Natsu with his mission?" She quizzed, expression all smiles again, as though she'd not been upset or wistful just as recently as two minutes ago.

After a look of wariness at Natsu, who was waving at the waitress to order more provisions, she responded. "Oh, no. Actually I've heard a rumor about something going on in the town and I wanted to see if there was any truth to it." Lucy nodded in thought, her next query obvious. "What rumors have you heard?"

"Well, when I was a little girl, six years ago, I was lost somewhere. I drifted and I didn't think I'd ever see my family again. But this hooded man saved me and left before I could properly thank him. Now, I've heard tales of someone in the hood lurking around the city and I want to see him if it's him. See if I can find him."

Lucy nodded, looking like she was contemplating something. "But why? Do you only wish to thank this person, yes?" At Lisanna's affirmation, Lucy added, "Seeing as though he left without neither showing his face or hearing you express your gratitude, perhaps your rescuer doesn't require or even want your thanks."

Lisanna shook her head, a passionate look on her face. "But I own him that! He brought me back to my family, back to my friends... everyone I care for. He could have easily left me to my fate, and yet he didn't. I can't imagine what kind of magic was even used to do that or what it took out of him. He changed me and my sister that day. Maybe he doesn't need my thanks, but I really would like to give him it anyway." Lisanna declared.

Lucy took a moment to stare at the other girl, face stoic and unreadable for the first time since they'd met her. Then a small, secret grin stretched across her face as she stood up.

"Talking to you three has been so nice. But I must get going." She grabbed Plue with one arm and placed a hefty sum of Jewel on the table. "I wish you luck on your journeys and I hope we meet again." She told in farewell as she walked away. Just as she was in front of the exit, she heard the strangled cry of a nearby waitress as she gawked at something behind her. Turning around, she blinked rapidly at the strange sight of Natsu and Happy on the ground, heads lowered to the floor in a bow of gratitude.

"Thanks so much for the food!" They screamed with many emotions in their voices, unconcerned with the amount of attention they were attracting or of Lisanna sweat-dropping and turning red in embarrassment.

After a moment of watching the pair in surprise, Lucy smiled again. "Happy to help. Really, you're more than welcome." And with those last words, Lucy was gone.

...

Lucy made her way to the secluded section of a park, making herself comfortable on the grass floor with her feet stretched out in front of her. The minute she settled down, Plue slipped out of her hold, giving her a look that only could be described as skeptical.

"I know, I know," she agreed with his unspoken claim, sounding completely unapologetic. "But it was nice to see how she was doing. Also, her friends seem wonderful." Lucy sighed turning to look at the blue sky with a warm smile on her face. "It's not often I meet kindred spirits like them."

At this, Plue gave a sound similar to an exasperated heave, turning around in a circle and settling down on the ground, wrapping his tail around himself and hiding his face within his body. Lucy sighed, thinking about the feeling she'd had that morning. Despite having a marvelous meeting with the wizards and their cat, she couldn't confirm whether or not they were what she had been on the lookout for. And she was sure it wasn't the Salamander wizard, whose methods of gaining popularity and praise were nothing short of cheap and creepy.

Besides, even if they had been what she was searching for, what would that mean for her? That she should go with them, possibly join the guild they came from? In an instant, every instinct involving her survival rejected that option. All these years of traveling by herself and occasionally interacting with people had taught her that it was better when she was alone. People, in general, could not be trusted.

Though it interest her that the Lisanna was still searching for her identity, and she was a smidgen bit amused at her decision that her gender was male. Though she wondered briefly what she had meant when she said that event had changed her sister? Lucy thought of the older white haired girl she'd seen hugging her sister and pondered on how her actions had altered her.

"Hey there, darling. I've been searching the whole town for you." Lucy and Plue looked up, him being pulled from the lure of sleep and her from her thoughts by the sound of a deep voice, which they discovered was the wizard from earlier, the Salamander, looking extremely pleased and confident.

"Oh, hello," Lucy said, clear surprise coloring her tone. She hadn't expected the man to track her down for any reason, but chose to listen to what he had to say anyway. "How can I help you?" Beside her, Plue crouched down, looking ready to jump up and rip his throat out.

"Well, after this morning, I just couldn't get your beautiful face out of my mind. You truly are exquisite, more so than anyone else in this town, and I wanted to personally invite you to this party I'm having on my yacht." He leered at her, looking self-assured and like she was something to eat. He seemed undeterred that his charm didn't seem to work on her and choose instead to use his own natural allure to woo her.

Taking a moment to genuinely consider his offer, Lucy saw no real reason to refuse him. Yes, his methods of getting admiration were low and somewhat pathetic, but he hadn't and could not cause any harm to her. Aside from that, it'd be nice to interact with other people and indulge herself on the display of foods he would have set up. Also, she honestly didn't want to hurt the man by declining his invitation. Perhaps this would help her figure out the reason behind her feeling, once and for all.

Decision made, Lucy gave a bright smile to the man. "I'd love to go!" She cheerfully accepted. Nodding with a chuckle, the man replied, "Excellent, I shall expect you tonight, my dear." With a suave wave and a burst of flames, he was gone.

Lucy turned to see her dear Plue immediately after, who peering at her as though she'd gone insane. "Oh, come on, Plue. It could be fun." She said encouragingly. Plue's cynical look remained the same as he proceeded to rubberneck Lucy.

"I know he probably has less than pure intentions," she conceded, not sounding the least bit worried. "But worse case scenario, I'll just have to put him in his place." She assured, reaching her hand out to scratch behind his ears in comfort. "Don't worry. Everything will turn out okay."

...

"Natsu?" Lisanna asked, a face of deep contemplation on her face as she called her companion, who was walking a few steps ahead of her. After Natsu had finally had his full of the lunch they were graciously treated to, they'd decided to explore the city, see if they could find who they were looking for.

Throughout the short time they walked, Lisanna couldn't stop thinking of the pretty blonde they'd ran into. Lucy was sweet and kind, seeming to never frown and always having a question. Yet, the observations she'd made and the answers she'd given... they seem too ingenious for the girl.

And her reaction to Natsu's revelation about his dad, in addition to the fact that she'd left almost twice the amount of money then was actually needed, left Lisanna feeling there was more to Lucy than they all perceived.

"Yeah?" Natsu answered, stopping to look at his friend. "About this mission Master sent you on... who were you looking for?" Natsu gave a shrug, seeming lackadaisical about the task. "Suppose to find some chick that been hanging around here. Gramps says it's very important for some reason. She's supposed to be super strong or whatever."

Lisanna, almost shaking anticipation, tentatively asked, "And... and what was her name?"

Natsu narrowed his eyes as racked his brains, trying to remember, "I think... it was... Luigi or something. Heartfilia is her last name."

"Uh, Natsu?" Happy intercepted quickly. "Wasn't her name Lucy?" Natsu looked down at his blue buddy, looking confused. "Isn't that what I said?" He demanded. Lisanna wasn't paying attention, distracted by their foolishness. "Natsu, I think that girl from before is who you're searching for."

"What makes you say that?" He inquired impatiently, seeming annoyed at his mini-argument being interrupted.

"Well, off the top of my head, it's how she acts. She detected our magic and gave such perceptive answers. Also, her pet Plue, he glared at everyone like he's waiting for someone to strike. I mean, you must have felt something when she helped you up earlier, right?" Lisanna watched as Natsu's face morphed into a blank expression as he supposedly thought that through. Then he reacted.

"Aw, damn it! She was right there! How the heck are we suppose to find her now? She could be long gone!" Just then, before Lisanna could calm him down, he heard a girl nearby practically scream:

"Isn't it great to have such a powerful member of Fairy Tail in town? That Salamander is just so amazing, and cute too!" The group sharply turned at the girl's declaration.

"What?!" The three shouted in unison.

...

Lucy hummed to herself as she walked on the railing near the peer, her attire the same as it was that morning. It was nighttime, the stars were out to play and she was headed to the party as she had promised, her faithful Plue right beside her on the pathway of Hargeon. Eventually, they were at the docks, clearly seeing the dark blue ship from where she stood. Picking up Plue, she walked to the entrance of the ship, where she discovered two gruffly-looking attendants.

After being given the okay by them and being told to head to below the decks, Lucy nodded in understanding, waving goodbye to them as she headed down. When she arrived, she quickly saw Salamander leaning against a table, absentmindedly twirling a glass of wine in his hand as he eyed her entering with smug glee.

"Welcome, my dear," he saluted, giving a short bow as she stood next to him. Plue gave off a little growl, but the man ignored it. "Would you care for some refreshments?" He graciously offered, holding up another glass for her to take.

"Thank you." She said politely, however when she raised the glass to her lips, she felt Plue shift in her arm and sensed the sedative magic in the drink. Calmly putting the glass down, she turned back to Salamander, a cool smile on her face. "Why were you attempting to drug me?" She asked, despite knowing that kind of magic would not have worked on her anyway.

The man seemed surprised for a moment before a smirk appeared on his face. "I suspected there was something special about you when I first saw you. Not just your beauty, but the way you held off my charm. Simply extraordinary." He shook his head slowly, a small laugh sounding out. "Good to say I'll have such a exceptional lady in my slave ship. Sorry to tell you, but unfortunately I'm kidnapping you and all the lovely ladies I managed to catch in my little fishing net." Taking a moment to wave the charm in her face, he snapped his fingers, calling more thugs to his side. "So if you just hold still while we bound and gag you, it would be much appreciated."

Lucy tilted her head slightly, seeming saddened by the reveal of the man's sinister and disrespectful nature. Moving Plue to her bag, she sighed. "Well, this is a great turn of events. I was hoping for a more positive outcome. Oh well." Taking a fighting stance, hands up and at the ready and feet resolutely apart, she prepared to fight. On her shoulders, Plue's growls were like a chainsaw, his fur bristling as he curled up in the bag in order to stay out of the way.

However, before anyone could make a move to attack, the ceiling suddenly burst open, a spray of wood coming down as a pink haired boy and a small blue cat landed on the floor, having literally jumped through the boat. The boy looked as though he wanted to throw every single one of the man's attendants off a cliff.

"Natsu?" Lucy said, instantly recognizing one of the mages she'd had lunch with, prior to this situation. Distracted from her preparations to fight, she asked, "What are you doing here?" The newcomers seemed just as confused, though oddly elated by her presence.

"Lucy! There you are." Happy exclaimed, hovering over her head. Lucy gasped as she noticed the white wings on Happy's back. Plue gave a huff as he settled back in her arms, seeming placated by the recently arrived. Noticing a determined look on Natsu's face, she watched as he turned to his blue friend. "Happy! Take Lucy to Lisanna. I'll handled this." He finished with a growl, though his words were slurred as his seasickness settled in, something Lucy quietly observed.

"Aye sir." Happy enthusiastically replied, quickly wrapping his tail around her and taking to the air with herself and Plue. Keeping a tight grip on Plue, Lucy watched as the man tried to prevent their escape, shooting fireballs at them with a desperate energy. Happy managed to evade them all and quickly made his way to shore.

But, just when they more than halfway there, he exclaimed, "Lucy, my transformations almost up. I won't be able to make it." Just as he finished warning them, his wings vanished and the three were falling quickly towards the ocean. Happy closed his eyes as he screamed frantically, but Lucy swiftly grabbed him and calmly eyed the incoming body of water.

Before they hit the water, a blue glow illuminated the area. After a few moments of not feeling the cold and wet, Happy hesitantly opened his eyes to see them... standing on it! Or, more accurately, Lucy stood on the water, looking completely in control of the situation. Sporting a dark blue zodiac symbol under her collarbone, she set Happy and Plue down, her presence giving them the ability to stay above the surface, and turned her attention to the boat.

Putting her hands together, Lucy closed her eyes and yelled, "Mage Style: Torrent!" Happy watched in utter shock as Lucy formed a tidal wave, bigger than any he'd seen or could ever imagined, and after a few moments of swirling the water around them with her hand movements, she ferociously hurled it all at the boat, hurtling it back to shore.

"Whoa, Lucy. You know magic? That's so awesome!" He exclaimed as Lucy picked him up, leaving Plue to walk on the solid surface that was the water. She shot a smile at Happy, "Yes, I borrowed one of friend's abilities in order to control water." She explained as she hopped onto shore, to see Lisanna openly gawking at her, having witnessed the whole thing.

The four looked up as they heard Natsu's voice, sounding angry and menacing. "You're a Fairy Tail mage, huh?" he growled, standing on top of the boat and glaring the Salamander down. Around him, the unconscious forms of the man's henchman loitered around him, obviously taken down by the pink haired mage himself

"What of it, boy? What does it concern you?" the charm man said, expression hostile and affronted. Natsu angrily replied, "I'm a mage of Fairy Tail and I've never seen you before in my life!" He stalked forward, the air in his immediate proximity shimmering due to the heat he was expelling.

"Lisanna," Lucy began as she felt the magical energy in Natsu rise well above normal, "what magic does Natsu use?" She looked on in surprise as Natsu easily swallowed up the flames being thrown at him by the crooked mage.

"Oh, Natsu's a fire dragon slayer. He eats fire all the time. He's the true Salamander of Fairy Tail," Lisanna explained, watching Natsu fight with awe shining in her eyes. They watched as Natsu managed to knock the man over into town, taking more than a few buildings and architecture with him.

"Amazing," Lucy declared with sparkling fascination in her eyes. The three walked over to Natsu, who seemed entirely satisfied with himself at having taken the fake Salamander down a few pegs. But before anyone could speak or anything, the military showed up.

Lucy, who has never allowed herself to be caught by any authority figure and refuses to start now, made to grab Plue and flee. But before she was more than an inch away, her wrist was grabbed and she was pulled in the opposite direction with great prowess. Keeping a firm grip on Plue, Lucy craned her neck to see her abductor was none other than Natsu, who was running away as fast as he could with Lisanna and Happy right on his tail. She could distinguish the sound of the military chasing after them, correctly assuming they were at fault.

"Natsu? Why are you dragging me with you?" Lucy questioned, confused about the situation, but taking no actions to remove herself from his grip.

"We... we got to talk! And it'll be easier when were away from these bozos. We're about to change your life." He explained, a huge grin on his face as he ran as fast as he could.

...

After a few hours of running like the bats of hell were pursuing them, Natsu and the others in the group managed to lose them. After catching their breaths, the four settled in the forest, making seats out of the grass and a nearby fallen tree, a small nearby lake reflecting the glistening moon.

Lucy sat on the tree, petting Plue absentmindedly. "So, why did you three kidnapped me? What did you want to talk about?" She didn't sound accusatory, just curious. The conversation could have been about the weather for all the attitude she was showing about the current matter.

Natsu stood a little distance away from her, facing her with a grave expression on his face. Lisanna and Happy were seated beside him, similar looks on their faces as they waited for Natsu to proceed. He didn't disappoint.

"Are you Lucy Heartfilia?" He questioned, eyes boring into the girl, displaying his utmost seriousness in this discussion. Lucy, for the most part, didn't react aside from an owlish blinking for a second, and then she smiled. It wasn't a happy or innocent smile, like the one's she'd given previously, but was rueful and slightly bitter.

"Oh, I see," she answered solemnly, still casually petting Plue despite her visual response to the topic. "You're one of the wizards sent by the magic council." In her lap, Plue growled and turned hostile eyes to the three Fairy Tail mages, who in turn eyed the fox warily.

Lisanna started at her reply. "How do you know that? You... you know the council is looking for you?"

"Of course." While Lucy's expression was calm and impassive, her voice was hardened and blatant evidence of her displeasure with this conversation. "You aren't the first guild to come after me for them. And you probably won't be the last."

Lisanna stiffened at the implication that Natsu would fail to bring Lucy back, as instructed. "You seem... reluctant to let the council protect you. Why is this so? They're trying to look out for you."

Lucy gave a curt laugh at that. "Please. It's not protecting me that is their main concern. It's saving their own skins, ensuring that this issue doesn't come back to haunt them by ignoring it, like their instincts scream at them to. They don't care about my wellness. In the end, it's about their lives and keeping their conditions carefree and happy." Her face was twisted into an angry expression as she spoke those harsh words.

"Hey, I won't argue that the council can be a huge pain in the ass sometimes," Natsu hastily countered, sounding outraged. "But I'm sure they have more concerns for the magic community at large then you think. What gives you the right to make judgments like that?"

"I only point out what is evident, Natsu. They didn't come looking for me until the dark guilds did. And even then, they could only afford to send others to take care of the matter for them. Like insufferable kings, needing others to take out the trash for them. Really, they won't lose any sleep if I live or die, as long as it never affects them or their way of life. That's what politics is. Everyone is so interested in making sure they get something out of it instead of thinking about the people. They profess to be helping and then seek after their own desires."" Lucy said, sounding hard and completely foreign to the sweet, happy girl they'd known her as that morning. "My life before this, prior to the guilds discovery of my abilities, they were absent from it. They don't get to look out for me now, when I neither need, nor want their attention.

"But it's not about going to the magic council," Natsu interrupted, "It's about Fairy Tail. Gramps wants you to join." Lucy continued to look unimpressed. "And that decision is simply a cover so that I'm close by should the council ever interest in meeting or interrogating me. He doesn't care for me, nor want me to join for any other reason than that."

"Hey, Gramps wouldn't let just any one to join, you know. He cares about every one in Fairy Tail and always looks out for them." Natsu fiercely retorted.

"Yeah!" Lisanna added just as resolutely. "There isn't any guild more loyal or together then Fairy Tail is." Lucy's face had transformed into a stoic look, getting up with Plue in her hands, and walking until she was facing the small body of water beside them, giving her reflection a hard gaze. "Even so, it's better for me when I'm by myself. And I see no reason to change that method now. No matter if your intentions are good or not."

Lisanna couldn't accept that. "But doesn't that get tiring, always fending for yourself? Lonely even? With Fairy Tail, you don't have to be by yourself."

"More often than not, it's better to be alone. To only depend on yourself." Lucy said with hard resolution in her voice.

"But why? This must go far beyond you're critique of the magic council. Why are you so sure of that philosophy?" Lisanna beseeched. After a few moments of silence from the four occupants, Lucy gave a deep sigh in weariness, kneeling down before the river. "Like I said, you aren't the first people to come looking for me. People have approached me before, extending a hand of friendship and such. And as you can infer from the fact that I continue to be alone till today, none of those interactions have ended well. When you go through something like I have, you learn that solitude is much preferred. You don't have to be guarded or fake, then. You can discover the world better that way. And... no one can hurt you." She squeezed Plue to her chest as she finished talking, sounding well beyond her years in that second as she stared at her reflection in water.

Lisanna, not sure how to proceed, turned to her travel companion. Natsu was studying Lucy with such intensity, face morphed into one who saw more than was there. Than he walked over until he was next to her, crouching next to her as he replied, "Fairy Tail isn't like that. We're not perfect, I tell you, and we attract trouble like no man's business, but... we're a family," Lucy started, scrutinizing Natsu as he monologued. "We take care of each other, no matter if the issue is big or small. We'd sooner die than turn our backs on each other and whether you're the oldest member or a newcomer, we all stick together. And it's one of the reasons we're best."

Lucy took a moment to think over what she'd been told. "Why do you insist I join Fairy Tail? This can't be just because you were ordered to. What, from our time together, makes you think I'm compatible with Fairy Tail?" She softly questioned.

Natsu shrugged in retaliation. "You seem like a good person. You chose to repay us for helping you and helped the people on that idiot fire mage's boat. And that's enough to me. Someone as nice as you belongs in our guild." Lucy looked mystified in the face of the dragon slayer's opinions, almost like she couldn't believe the judgement being bestowed on her. It made Lisanna wonder of the last time someone saw more than just her supposed abilities.

"Although, you're so weird." Natsu added without skipping a beat. Lisanna and Happy almost fell over at Natsu's blunder while Lucy looked completely stupefied, mouth hanging open as she gazed at Natsu. "That's just like Natsu. Saying something sweet and thoughtful, than putting his foot in his big mouth and ruining everything." Happy snidely declared.

Just as Lisanna was about to reprimand Natsu, they heard a choked sound emitting from the blonde Mage. They all turned to see Lucy hunched over, bangs casting a shadow over eyes and shoulders shaking, teeth visibly biting her lower lip.

"Nice going, Natsu. You made her cry." Happy yelled, sounding happier about this outcome than was probably appropriate. Just as Natsu prepared to snap back at the cat, Lucy started laughing. They turned to her, astonished as Lucy doubled over, giggling with such unrestrained vigor, small tears rolling down her face after a few moments.

When her cachinnation finally ended, they watched as she delicately wiped the tears from her face. "Natsu," she said warmly, "talking to you is very refreshing. You make me... less guarded." Taking a moment to give him another closed-eye smile, she forged ahead. "Do you truly think I would fit in with Fairy Tail? That I could find a place there, like you?"

Giving a crooked grin, Natsu responded without a shadow of doubt, "Definitely!"

Lucy gave a happy nod. "Very well. I shall join your guild. I will become a Fairy Tail mage."


	3. Truths and the First of Many Adventures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now, it's time for episode 2 and Lucy's meeting of the guild.

_"I'm not kidding, brat! Get your butt up and get moving!"_

_Lucy remained oblivious to her mermaid friend's threats and instructions. For the past three days, she'd laid in the forest, practically catatonic in the wake of her great tragedy. The only thing she seemed capable of doing at that point was breathing, automatic tears rolling down her face each day. It was on the third day that Aquarius had had enough._

_"Moping won't bring them back. It won't bring any of them back. It'll just waste their sacrifices." The mermaid declared, sounding beyond annoyed at being ignored._

_Lucy dazely wondered if she just closed her eyes and just let the world fade away around her, if she'd have the power to reverse this. Or if she could take herself away to where her family is. She briefly wondered if living this life that was spared was worth it, when you have no reason for living, no hope for the future._

_"You think you're the only one who lost them? I knew what my master planned and I begged her not to do it. I beg her to find another way. I practically beg her to let you go, to do what she could to survive above all else. She outright refused to. She was desperate to save you, willing to do whatever it took to persevere your life. And no matter how much I resent you for that, I refuse to let her choice, her decision be in vain. So get your ass up NOW, or I'll make you wish you weren't born!"_

...

It was long after her newfound friends had gone to sleep that Lucy decided to talk to her spirits. It had been about a day after she'd agreed to go with them back to Fairy Tail and after traveling with virtually no sleep, Lisanna had put her foot down, demanding they rest that night. Happy had almost immediately agreed with her.

So now the three laid on the side of a dirt path, a small flame billowing in between them as they all slept the night away. All except one.

Typically when Lucy made a solid decision about something, she consulted her spirits to get their opinions on her choice. Generally, Plue went along with anything she chose, but with this one, she'd jumped the gun by just agreeing. But Natsu had gotten her practically shaking with anticipation with each story he'd told of his friends and his guild, that she'd forgotten about her spirits.

Since the time she'd rather not mention, she had vowed to never cut her other dimensional companions from her life. The last time she had... well, things didn't work out the way she'd hoped. She might as well tell her celestial friends about her choice now. After much speculation, she decided it was best to talk to the leader of the zodiacs, Loke. Since the time of their first meeting, she'd often referred to him about the world around her and some choices she wanted to make. He was certainly more understanding than Aquarius or Capricorn, at times.

Moving quickly, her bare feet making no sound as she sprinted, she went a little away till she was far enough that they wouldn't be disturbed by her, but close enough to still see the campfire. Then she called forth her spirit.

"Open, Gate of the Lion: Leo!" She cried, holding up her golden key and watching as it glowed as bright as the sun. She stared as one of her most recent friends appeared before her and smiled. She was always happy to see her friends, old or new.

"Hello, my sweet Angel. How may I be of service tonight?" Loke said, fixing his glasses and a smile full of teeth appearing on his face. His orange hair was in it's usual unkept style and his trademark black suit and pants still very much his signature look. Lucy couldn't help but laugh at his antics. Since the first day they've met, Loke had showered her in compliments and remarks of her intelligence, her beauty, her grace... and while she never could figure out if he was sincere or not, it was all still nice to hear.

"I wanted to let all of you know, I've decided to join the Fairy Tail guild." Lucy happily announced, her closed-eyed smile lighting up her face. There was a moment of silence.

"Uh, Angel, the last time you were propositioned to join a guild, that conversation didn't go so well. Why would you want to join the most destructive one in existence?" Loke asked.

"You're aware of why that request went sour, Loke. Do you disapprove of Fairy Tail? Are they similar in attitude?" Lucy questioned curiously. While having made up her mind, she would reconsider in a heartbeat if her spirits were against it for a valid reason. Loke hastily waved his hands in refutation. "No, no! I actually considered joining Fairy Tail before you found me, actually. It seems like a legitimate and welcoming place, as well as one of the best guilds out there. But why do you want to join? And why now?"

"I'm not really sure." Lucy answered honestly. And that was true. Despite Natsu and Lisanna's compelling arguments, she couldn't figure out why going to Fairy Tail appealed to her so greatly. Perhaps it was the feeling she had the previous day or maybe it involved how being around the three made her happy, especially when she was talking to Natsu. "I met three members yesterday. A Natsu, Lisanna and Happy. They were... unique, to put lightly. And talking to them and witnessing their obvious love for their guild and guildmates... I suppose I want to be a part of that, too. Besides, if it's between joining Fairy Tail or wandering around till the council decides to lock me up for my own good, I suppose this is the lesser of two evils."

She gave a small sigh, then turned to face Loke. "I'm not sure if this is truly the right action to take or if this is even a good idea. I just know that I want to give this a shot," Lucy declared, determination shining in her eyes and then she flashed another smile at Loke. "Besides, it could be fun!"

Loke shook his head, an amused smile on his face. Despite having been with his mistress for a few years, he could tell that there was more to the choices she made than just was at point blank. Having heard the story of her life before they'd met, Loke couldn't help but wonder what was so appealing that she had left unspoken. "Sometimes I think that's the main motivational factor for you. Very well," Loke said as he got up and prepared to leave, "I'll tell the others about our new course for you."

"Don't suppose you could tell Aquarius of my decision for me as well?" Lucy inquired, just as Loke was about to leave. He couldn't help the involuntary shudder he gave at her request.

"Sorry, Angel," Loke said, a small strained laugh in his voice, "But I would rather not put myself in suicidal situations tonight, or any other night."

...

It was several days later when the group finally made it to the Fairy Tail guildhall. Taking a moment to look up at the impressive stone building with the big letters announcing the guild inside, Lucy couldn't help but think it was more similar to a mansion than a guildhall. Than again, she wasn't really one to judge, considering she had nothing else to compare it to. Now, anyway.

"What do you think?" She turned to Natsu, who was looking at her with a big grin as he waited for her answer. She duplicated his expression as she truthfully said, "It is quite impressive-looking."

Lisanna gave a small laugh. "Well, you haven't seen the inside yet." Then she proceeded to enter the building, the other three following her inside. Lucy took a moment to look around. It was full of people and the guild was more than big enough to hold them all. She felt Plue restlessly stirring in her arms and pet him soothingly. It would take some time for him to get used to the crowds, but as a whole, the atmosphere was friendly and homely.

She started as she heard a loud ruckus and turned to see Natsu engaged in a fight with a black-haired man. She watched in astonishment as a majority of members joined in, breaking tables and throwing chairs as the battle commenced. Perhaps she'd made that previous judgement too early.

"Looks like Natsu's at it again." Lisanna dryly commented, watching the fight with a look of amused exasperation.

"So this isn't how guilds are supposed to greet each other?" Lucy asked, watching as the whole guild seemed to start hitting and blasting at each other. Lisanna shook her head with a laugh, "No, Natsu just likes to fight and he tends to ignite the same feeling in other people," she explained. Grabbing Lucy's left bicep, she started pulling her to the bar, "Come on, I'll introduce you to my big sister."

They began moving directly to their destination, managing to avoid being hit as well as any hurling objects as they made it to the back of the building. "Lisanna!" A lady with long, curly white hair and blue eyes greeted. She was wearing a red, sleeveless dress with a pleated skirt and was currently putting drinks on a silver tray. "How was your trip?"

Lisanna gave a small laugh as she sweat dropped, "Eventful," she answered as she turned to look at the blonde beside her, who was studying the fighting mages, particularly Natsu's fight with a shirtless Gray, with a confused smile on her face, while Plue was staring with a blank expression. "Natsu managed to destroy more than a few buildings and Lucy threw a ship back to shore with water."

Mirajane turned to see what her sister was staring at. "Oh! Whose your friend? Is she a new member?" She asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, Natsu brought her. She's Lucy and the fox is Plue." Lisanna answered, taking a moment to smile at the newcomer. Meanwhile, Mirajane seemed intrigued, "Natsu brought her? I wonder..." She asked, a devious smile appearing on her face. Lisanna could almost see the ship name her sister was making for the two mages.

Before Lisanna could properly explain and refute her older sister's misconception of the relationship, she felt herself being roughly grabbed by the stomach to the right side just as a big, wooden table was about to hit her. She turned to see the brown eyes of the blonde newcomer.

"Are you alright?" She asked, but before Lisanna could answer, they were moving again, turning to the left this time just as Gray heavily landed in the spot they had previously been occupying. Lisanna turned to see Natsu brandishing the ice wizard's boxers, a triumphant grin on his face. After Gray managed to pick himself up, he turned to Lucy. "Excuse me miss, but would..." His words halting as he got a good look at her.

"Whoa." He declared, just as enchanted as Natsu had been when he'd laid eyes on her. "Whose this?" Lisanna quickly answered, as Lucy was still distracted by the brawl taking place in the center of the guild. "Oh, this is Lucy. Natsu brought her."

"Wait, Flame-brain brought her!"

Not a second after the loud pronouncement from Gray, suddenly Lucy found herself surrounded by the members of the guild, mainly the guys who hadn't been involved in the fight. "Whose this treasure?" Wakabo asked, spreading smoke as he examined the new girl just as thoroughly as everyone else. Lucy, to her credit, just impassively let herself be surrounded and studied, like a work of art, subtly stroking Plue's fur as he grew more agitated with the attention and disregard for personal space. Lisanna quickly elbowed her way through the crowd to rescue Lucy from her invasive guildmates.

"Guys, back up. You have to give her some space." After the girls were given a wider berth, Lisanna continued, "This is someone Natsu asked to join the guild. She's-"

But Gray interrupted her before she could continue. "Wait, you mean to tell me that not only did Natsu manage to talk to a girl wizard, but he also managed to not repulse her with his natural stink, his general ugliness, and his-" Then a chair crashed into Gray, sending him spiraling to the wall behind the bar.

"Care to repeat that, Ice Jerk? Cause I'm not the one standing around like a shameless monkey!" Natsu challenged, fire billowing in his hands. Lisanna could see others prepared to restart the battle that was started the instance Natsu walked through the door and was prepared to drag both herself and Lucy to cover when a gigantic foot suddenly stomped the floor, shaking the building and putting an end to the fight.

"What have I told you brats about fights in the guildhall?!" He screamed, voice resonating throughout the building. Lucy stared up at the master of the guild, taken aback at the overall appearance of the leader, but not all that surprised. On the way to the guild, Natsu had given her a rundown of the important members and "Gramps", as he said he called him, was exactly as he described him. Very old, but powerful. The amount of magic she could feel emanating from him was quite impressive.

Taking the time to glare at the guilty members, he stopped once he spotted the blonde newcomer. After taking her in, he casually inquired, "Hello, there. A new recruit, I presume?"

"Yes," Lucy answered solemnly, "I am Lucy Heartfilia. It's nice to meet you."

The man gave a short nod almost to himself as he shrunk back to him default size, coming just to her knees in height. He looked up at her, an easy grin on his face. "I'd like to talk to you, Miss Lucy, if you don't mind. You as well, Natsu, but that can wait till tomorrow." He threw at the dragon slayer, just as he was prepared to throw another chair at Gray's back. Then he swiftly turned away, climbing the stairs to the second level of the guildhall. After a moment of watching his retreating back, Lucy followed, with Plue tucked in her arms and a neutral expression on her face.

After a few moments of silence in the wake of the surprise meeting, Natsu turned back to Gray, flames at the ready. "Prepared for that rematch?" He darkly asked.

...

Makarov sighed heavily as he heard the fight resume, somehow louder than the one he'd stopped before. "Couldn't wait five minutes before starting again, I see," he grumbled to himself. Rather than address that issue, he chose to focus on his current one. The target of dark guilds and evil wizards alike: Lucy Heartfilia.

Swiftly making his way to the back of the floor, where a wooden desk as well as cotton chairs placed adjacent from each other laid waiting. Taking the chair behind the desk, he gestured to the chair facing him. "Please, take a seat." The young lady quietly sat down, face expressionless. He could see her fox making low growls and grumbles behind clenched teeth, obviously disliking the situation they were in.

Sensing the tense state, the third master proceeded with the meeting. "So, in the attempt to make this interaction effective and time well spent, let's me start by laying down a few ground rules. I am Makarov Dreyar, third master of the Fairy Tail guild, and while I don't require you to tell me everything about you or to answer any questions from me or anyone else that makes you uncomfortable, I insist that we at least agree to be veracious. You don't lie to me, and I will remain honest with you."

Lucy gave a slow nod. "I suppose that's fair." She conceded softly, absentmindedly petting Plue in comfort.

"Very good," Makarov replied, a big smile appearing on his wrinkly face. "Now, as I'm sure Natsu has told you, the magic council has specifically asked a select few of trusted guilds to be on the lookout for you. And, as he also most likely mentioned, I've requested you become a part of this guild should he find you." At Lucy's sharp nod, he continued. "From your expression, I'm sure that the fact that this was somewhat orchestrated by the council wasn't the biggest selling point to you coming back with our dear dragon slayer. Nor, the fact that they wish to ensure you aren't snatched by any dark guilds or wizards, as they've heard talk of."

"It's not as much as you imply. I've only come across one member of a dark guild and she was defeated. This argument of the magic council holds no fruit and is entirely unnecessary. I can take care of myself, if need be." Lucy answered, voice hard.

"And yet, you chose to come to Magnolia and join Fairy Tail, just within reach of the council, should they ever do come for you. May I ask why?" Makarov asked, sincere curiosity in his voice. After a deep sigh, Lucy looked away, fixing the wall with a steady glare before answering.

"Natsu gave a very compelling argument. He talked of Fairy Tail's strength and virtue and has stated that those who join are treated with true companionship, almost like that of a family. He was quite insistent that this wasn't just about what the magic council wanted. He assured me that this was truly an invitation from you to join your guild. Is that true?" Lucy's eyes snapped back to the master, gaze intense and knowing.

Makarov said, "I can ensure you it is. While I may not know your history or why the council has deemed you important, I've never hesitated to open my doors to anyone who wanted or needed it. You've obviously wondered to so many places, without a solid place to call home. I would like Fairy Tail to fill that description for you."

After studying the master for a whole minute, Lucy replied, "And what's the catch? What do you require of me, should I agree to your desire?"

"All I require is that you reciprocate that behavior. When you're part of Fairy Tail, we're literally all in this together. We stick up for each other, cry together, laugh together. It won't just be about you. It would be about us. You must be ready and willing to put us before yourself. As well as go on the occasional job, of course, to help gain respect and a good reputation for the guild. Can you do that, Miss Heartfilia?" Makarov inquired, a steady gaze of his own locking with Lucy's face.

After an intense staring match, where either side seemed to be searching for something from the other, Lucy smiled. Not one of her bitter, fake smiles for the people who she felt earned it, but a genuine, bright smile as she said, "Yeah. I think I can."

...

After having made her way downstairs and listening to the third master shout about destroying public property and the truth of magic from the second floor, as well as the reaction of everyone raising their hands to show their support of the guild and their master's words, Lucy noticed Mirajane walk in front of her, a stamp in her hand and a smile on her face.

"Lucy, when you join a guild, custom dictates you put the guild emblem on any part of your body and in any color. So where would you like yours and what pigment would you prefer? And for your... Plue?" She asked, momentarily shifting her attention to the fox and then back to her.

Thinking for a moment, remembering something she'd heard almost a lifetime ago, Lucy made her decision. "Pink, please. And... on my right hand. And black and around the center of the tail for Plue." She said, holding her hand up and the bushiest part of Plue's tail as she talked. She watched as Mirajane pressed the stamp to her hand for a few seconds, pulling it away to show the new mark on her hand and proceeded to repeat the action with Plue. While growling lowly, he allowed the stamping, examining the mark with a disdain expression when Mirajane was done.

Thanking the cheerful lady and more than a little surprised no one questioned her meeting with Makarov, Lucy took a moment to admire the new symbol now permanently on her hand. Meeting the third master hadn't been anything like she thought it would. For one, he had been very straightforward and truthful. He hadn't hesitated to assure her that she didn't have to reveal what abilities she had or any other parts of her history, assuring her that Natsu was really the only one who knew anything of it, but was, as he said, "so simpleminded and battle-ready, he probably forgot that part the instant I mentioned it." That statement had been said with barely concealed amusement and pride.

After thinking it through, she saw Makarov's point. Natsu, while quite passionate and intelligent, in a sense, did seem somewhat dimwitted. And, concerning her history, she appreciated the choice to disclose her history, should she choose. While she believed in the trust and love Fairy Tail had for each other, she was new. She'd rather she had a chance to discover it on her own.

With that thought in mind, she turned to look at Natsu, who was staring a a big wooden board covered in what must be job requests with Happy flying above him, encouraging him to pick a great job. Making her way over to right behind him with her right hand held up, she said with a bright smile on her face, "Look Natsu, I've officially joined your guild."

However, Natsu didn't bother to turn, seemingly too focus on the board as he answered in a bored voice, "Good for you, Luigi. Welcome to the guild." Lucy gave a startled blink at the slight butcher of her name, but before she could, she noticed a small dark blue-haired boy ran towards the master, who had taken a seat at the bar and been taking a chug of beer.

"Is he back yet? My dad, I mean?" He asked with blatant sadness and eagerness.

"Romeo, I said this before, you must have some faith in your father. He'll be back when he's back." Makarov said impatiently as he continued to drink his beer, evident unconcerned with the possible state of his guild member.

"It's been a week, Master! He wasn't suppose to be gone this long! Please, can someone go look for him?" Romeo implored, ready-eyed. Lucy noticed that Natsu was watching the scene happen too, with an almost frightening intensity.

"Romeo, your father is a member of this guild. A fine wizard who is more than able to take care of himself. It would be pointless to send someone. Just wait for him and I'm sure he'll be back soon." Makarov dismissed.

Lucy could only stare in shock at the abysmal way Makarov treated the boy. Not just any boy, but one worrying and missing his father. She could feel her anger threatening to overflow, the fire within working to flow free. She felt her power emitting, causing a dip in the temperature as her she watched Romeo walk away, tears rolling loudly down his young face. How can someone who claimed to be a part of this family just a few moments ago just...

She felt Plue nuzzling into her, attempting to placate her. She could see a few people shivering as her ability dampened the air around her.

Than she started as she heard a loud sound of wood creaking. She turned to see Natsu with his fist on the board, having punched it with more than a little strength, and then he proceeded to storm out. In the wake of her shock, Lucy could feel herself gaining control of herself. She gave a small breath of relief leave her, pure shame filling her at how close she'd come to losing control, just like when she was in Hargeon. She really must keep a tighter leash on herself, Aquarius and Capricorn would have her head if she lost control over something so subnormal than what's she dealt with before.

"Did he scare you?" Lucy turned to see Mirajane beside her, a small smile on her face, having misinterpreted her jump and sigh. "Don't be. He just understands, more than anyone, what Romeo is going through. His dad disappeared when he was much younger." Then she went on to explain Natsu's story and that his dad went missing on July 7th x777.

Lucy recalled Natsu mentioning his search for his father, but she hadn't realized he'd went missing. She can't imagine that pain, being left behind without a clue the reason why or if you'll see each other again. She briefly wondered for a moment what was worse; the crushing despair when you know nothing's out there for you or the hurt when you know someone abandoned you and still, you have the urge to find them.

"You'll find that something all members of Fairy Tail have in common. We all have pain, whether it involves our family or how we ourselves have been treated. Some involve death and others will argue that it was living that was much more agonizing." Mirajane said sadly, taking a moment to look at her siblings as she talked.

After a moment of thought, then locking eyes with a resigned-looking Plue, Lucy made her way to the door, leaving the white fox on the bar table with a simple "I'll be back soon." . "Lucy, where are you going?" the white-haired Mage called. Lucy turned and gave a subdued smile. "I'm going with Natsu to find Romeo's dad. Goodbye and please feed Plue for me." And then, with a wave of her hand, she ran after the dragon slayer.

"Natsu!" She called as she caught sight of him and Happy walking near the edge of the city. "Natsu, wait up!"

"Lucy?" Natsu asked, anger forgotten in the wake of his confusion. "What're ya following me for?" Lucy gave one of her closed-eyes smiles in reply. "I want to help you."

"Why?" Happy asked. That caused Lucy to pause. While she wanted to trust Natsu with her history, she just couldn't talk about it right now. The pain she felt, the despair of being without your family... she wouldn't wish that on anyone. Perhaps she didn't know this Romeo, but she did understand the need to know your family is safe and well. Rather than mention any of that, she simply answered with "This is my new family and I want to help them anyway I can."

Natsu gave a massive grin. "That's the spirit. Then let's get going, Lucy!" And with those final words, they were on their way.

...

Makarov gave a sigh in relief as he watched Lucy leave. Playing the impatient and uncaring leader role had been hard, especially in the face of Macao's boy. He would just have to make it up to Romeo once Natsu and Lucy came back with his father.

He shivered as he recalled the swell of power emanating from the blonde. Testing her this way had hit a little close to home, if her reaction was anything to go by. While he didn't usually like deploying such tactics of manipulation on any of his children, old or new, he did need to know more about her or any skills she may have.

Sending her on an unofficial mission with Natsu seemed like the way to do it. Besides, the fact that she was willing to go with said dragon slayer to retrieve a member of the guild she hadn't even met yet in the first place spoke volumes of her kindness, especially concerning family. Makarov could only hope that not only was the task a success, but that she never figured out what he'd just done to test her.

...

After another day's journey in another trail, they made it to Mount Hakobe. Natsu persistently stomped up the mountain, Lucy and Happy right behind him as they ventured. The weather was especially chilling, the wind blowing fiercely and the cold worse than that of several thousand ice cubes. Everything was covered in a vast blanket of snow, the snow swirling around them like that of a snow globe.

The journey itself hadn't been particularly bad, but Natsu could have done without the horrible stomach and the uncontrollable urge to hurl all the contents of his stomach onto the floor. Otherwise, the trip has so far been quiet and peaceful. The only sound that could be heard was the howl of the angry wind, now.

After a few moments of trudging through the show, Happy dazely notice something. "Hey, Lucy. Isn't it too cold for that outfit?" Happy could feel the wind freezing his body from the neck down, so he couldn't fathom how Lucy could walk through the blizzard in such flimsy clothes. "Also, why didn't you take your little friend with you?"

Lucy, however, quickly waved off his concerns with a bright smile. "Oh, I'm quite fine, Happy. I hardly notice the cold at all. Plue, however, hates cold places of any kind and I doubt he'd be happy if I dragged him along with me." Before Happy could push the issue, she questioned, "Oh, I even forgot to ask, what was Romeo's dad doing out here in the first place?"

Natsu shrugged. "Getting rid of some Vulcans or something, they were becoming too much. It should have only taken a few days to deal with them..." His voice trailed off as he took the time to look around the mountain for any movement. Suddenly, a humongous gorilla-like creature landed right smack in the middle of their group, effectively separating Lucy as both she and Natsu moved out in opposite directions to dodge the monster. Not wasting anytime, the monkey grabbed the blonde mage and made a run for it, carrying her away from her new friends. "Lucy!" She heard Natsu scream as she disappeared deep within the mountain.

Lucy, while having been caught off guard, made no move to free herself once she'd gotten her bearings. She was having another one of her feelings, and could somehow tell the key to finding their missing mage was by allowing the monkey to take her to his home. Eventually, the beast stopped in an ice cave carved along the side of the mountain, placing Lucy delicately on the icy ground. Then she watched, dumbfounded, as he proceeded to do a very confusing and baffling ritual around her.

Ignoring the beast in favor of looking around the cave, Lucy took a moment to search for any sign of life or any activities. However, she saw nobody was there but herself and the Vulcan. As she watched him continue to dance, she heard him constantly yell something about "his woman".

"Uh, excuse me?" She called out, causing the Vulcan to stop and stare in blatant puzzlement. "Why have you kidnapped me?" The Vulcan eagerly answer. "Make my woman, my woman!"

Lucy slowly shook her head and rose to her feet. "I'm sorry, but I cannot accept. I don't think my spirits or Plue would approve and I have a new life in Magnolia I can't leave behind. But it would really help me if you could tell me the whereabouts of a mage who may have shown up a few days prior to our meeting?"

She watched as the Vulcan worked through what she said, growing angry as he finally realized what she was saying. "My woman! Mine!" He screamed as he lunged for her. Lucy rolled away to evade the beast, then looked up to see its fists raised up high in the air, the intent to take her down more than clear. As the fists swung down to meet her, Lucy raised up one of her hands, catching the attack midway.

The ice floor beneath her cracked as the momentum pushed her down a few inches, but was otherwise unaffected by the crushing blow. She could see the frustration growing on the monkey's face as he struggled to knock her down, strain showing in his face and the muscles of his arms. Weaving her way under the onslaught, Lucy jumped and kicked the monster across the face, sending him flying until he hit the wall at the far side.

As the monster got up, mad as ever, Lucy sighed. "I was really hoping I could get through this trip without having to fight. It really is too bad." Then she began to glow bright yellow, causing the Vulcan to shield his eyes. The next second, Lucy stood tall, hair now down and flowing and wearing a black tank top that stopped just before her stomach, showing off her midriff, and black sarong at her hips, a slit on her left side showing her thigh with the zodiac sign of Leo. Hands now covered in leather gloves, she cracked her knuckles. "So, let's do this." She goaded in glee, fist glowing like the sun as she waited for the fight to start.

The Vulcan gave off one last roar in dominance before charging at the blonde celestial wizard.

...

Natsu wasn't quite sure what just happened. One moment, he was here searching for a friend of his, the next, the blonde who had chosen to accompany him had been snatched up by one of the creatures Macao was suppose to get rid of. And he couldn't even find them now, because the stupid snow storm had covered the paw prints of the great ape and he couldn't smell anything but ice and coldness.

"Keep looking, Happy!" He yelled as he stomped his way through the snow, much angrier than before. Not only had those ugly things made Macao disappear, but they'd ran off with one of his friends. Lucy may be weird and somewhat puzzling, but she was a member of Fairy Tail now. And if he had to burn down this entire mountain to save her from that creepy Vulcan, then so be it! He was all fired up and ready to fight!

"Natsu, over there!" He heard Happy shout over the tempest. Turning to see where Happy was pointing to he saw the ginormous entrance of an ice cave. And if he racked each ears, he could distinctly hear the sound of grunts and cracks.

"Good work, little buddy!" He applauded, making a running start before jumping into the cave with a fiery fist. "I'm fired up now!"

...

Fighting the Vulcan had been much easier then Lucy thought it would be. Even without the use of Regulus, she was more than able to keep the monster at bay and throw in more than a few moderate attacks throughout the fight. She was currently watching it hunched over, clearly out of breath but very unwilling to quit. His present state was due to her expertly nailing him in the gut. Still, Lucy tried whenever she could to give him a peaceful and diplomatic way out. "I'll ask once again. Where is the wizard sent to defeat you?"

The monkey simply barreled towards her once again, having caught his second wind. As Lucy prepared to push him back once again, suddenly Natsu appeared and hit him roughly in the chest with a flaming fist, once again sending it flying till it hit the wall, before quickly running towards her to put himself between the Vulcan and her.

"Natsu." Lucy acknowledged, unsurprised that he had shown up like he did and taken down the Vulcan as well. She was rapidly learning that Natsu was both strong and unpredictable.

"Hey, Luce. You okay?" Natsu asked, never taking his eyes off his furry opponent as he gradually made his way back to his feet. Lucy brightly answered. "I'm fine, thanks."

"The jerky monkey didn't hurt you, did he Lucy?" Happy cried worryingly as he flew into her arms. Lucy laughed as she soothingly petted the blue cat on the head. "No, no. The worse he did was try to make me his woman and then attack me when I didn't agree. He was actually very easy to hold off before you two showed up. Although, he continues to remain quiet about your friend's whereabouts."

Natsu growled as he moved towards the Vulcan. "So you know where Macao is, huh? Then you'd better open your yak and tell me, you dumb ape. He's apart of Fairy Tail and everyone in Fairy Tail is apart of my family! If I have to rip you to pieces to keep my family in one piece, then I'll do just that!" The Vulcan gave off a little growl of his own as he rushed at Natsu, only to be punched across the face.

Lucy watched with genuine interest as the fire dragon slayer easily fought off the monkey. She had figured Natsu was strong when she'd watched him fight Bora's men in Hargeon, but it was even more evident here, the way he twisted and punched the creature was simply amazing. Ultimately, he punched the Vulcan into the side of the cave, finally knocking him unconscious. Just as she was about to congratulate Natsu on his victory, they watched as the Vulcan glowed yellow and turn into a tarnished-looking blue-haired man.

Lucy blinked in surprise, now understanding what her feelings had been trying to tell her. Happy and Natsu gasped in astonishment as they ran to the man, Lucy hot on his heels. "Macao. You okay?" Natsu asked, carefully moving the man to the floor, who seemed to be wheezing as he slumbered.

Lucy got on her knees and took a moment to examine him, gingerly poking and prodding him in a few places. "I think you broke his ribs, Natsu. And there are some previous injuries that haven't had a chance to mend." Quickly flicking her eyes to Natsu then back to the unconscious mage, she said, "I'll have to heal him. Stand back, please."

"Lucy, what-?" Happy began to ask, but abruptly stopped talking as he watched Lucy, whose hands were pressed together in a position similar to that of someone praying, was glowing with silver lights. She pressed her hands to Macao's chest, enveloping him in a film of gray lights. Natsu and Happy watched in wonder as the few cuts on the blue-haired wizard's face were closed up and fixed. It was a long while before the light faded from both Lucy and Macao, who was breathing a lot easier now.

"He needs time to rest," Lucy quietly informed the other two. "My magic needs time to put everything back to tip-top shape. Shouldn't take more than an hour tops, really, then he'll be up and running again." Lucy declared, giving off another close-eyed smile as she finished. Then she gave a delicate yawn. "I could use some sleep too. Using those kinds of abilities always drains me more than using my celestial ones. I should be awake before he is though. Please, could you keep a lookout while I'm resting?"

Natsu, while more than a little confused about what just came to past, didn't hesitate to say, "Don't worry, Luce. You can count on me." while Happy said, "Aye, sir." And with that, Lucy laid down on the icy floor, hands pillowing her head as she drifted to sleep.

...

Natsu watched as Lucy slept, speculating a few things. When Gramps had asked him to find Lucy Heartfilia, he honestly didn't know what to expect. When they'd met, he couldn't see what was so important the bigwigs felt she needed to be secured in a guild. But this trip was teaching him new things about this girl. The outfit she was wearing now, for instance, was different and was emitting a different kind of magic than before. Then the way she'd casually mentioned she'd held off a Vulcan as well as somehow figuring out the ape had something to do with Macao was quite baffling. And that wasn't including the fact that she knew some type of healing magic! It was safe to say that this girl was very interesting, indeed.

Recounting their trip to Hargeon, Natsu remembered how she had somehow managed to fully captivate him upon his first glance at her. Not adding the great power Happy had told him of, how Lucy used some kind of water magic to knock the ship back to shore.

This adventure had showcased some more of her power, but he had a feeling there was much more where that came from concerning. And he just knew somehow, that she would be more than a perfect fit into his guild. He just knew it.

...

By the time Lucy woke up and changed back into her original outfit, the storm had lessen to a slow drift, subsequently making the journey back much safer and more pleasant the the journey to Mount Hakobe. The Fairy Tail members made their way back home, Natsu carrying Romeo's father over his shoulders, like a sack of potatoes. As they walked past the outskirts of the mountain and unto lands of soil and plant life, they could hear the sound of quiet groaning.

Macao stirred, eyes opening slowly and blinking as he tried to focus. His attention shifted to his left, where Lucy was walking. "Is... is that an angel? Am I in heaven?" He asked, voice slurred as he mind fought to remain in the REM cycle. Lucy gave a little laugh at the disoriented mage's mistake. "No, you're very much alive. I'm Lucy, a fellow member of Fairy Tail. Nice to officially meet you."

Natsu intervened before Macao could reply. "You alright, Macao? You've been sleeping for a while." He said as the man came to his senses. They all stopped to give the man time to get caught up to reality, Macao leaning heavily on Natsu's right shoulder as they stood to finish conversing. He rubbed his neck as he stretched aching bones. "Natsu? Last I remember I was fighting some Vulcans and then, one... what happened?" The blue-haired man groaned.

"You were taken over by one," Lucy happily explained. "You kidnapped me and retained several injuries from our efforts to subdue you. However, it all worked out in the end."

"Yeah, Lucy healed you and made you all better again. It was pretty awesome." Happy praised, flying over them with the energy of bunny rabbit.

Macao couldn't help but shoot a dubious look at the blond-haired girl. He generally tried not to judge a book by its cover, but he just couldn't see what this girl could possibly have the power to do what she'd claimed to have done. She had said "our efforts", implying she'd managed to overpower a giant, hormone-driven beast. He has seen Natsu in action, so he knows that he's more than capable of that. But what kind of power did this new member of Fairy Tail have beneath that pretty face to be stronger than a monster?

"Then I guess I owe you my thanks, little lady." He chuckled, finding this situation oddly hilarious. St least until he remembered his failure. How weak he was in the face of his task. He sighed, a deep sigh appearing on his face. "I don't know how I can face my boy, Romeo after this. Couldn't even take down twenty Vulcans, I let myself get caught off guard with that last one and even needed rescuing myself. How pitiful."

There was a moment of quiet in the face of his bitter words. "I think he'd be very proud," Lucy said softly and wistfully, surprising everyone as they turned to see her downcast face. "You managed to take down a lot more than a lot of people can ever hope to brag about. And I'm sure if your son cares about you as much as he seemed to when I saw him yesterday, then your accomplishments will mean a lot more to him then your minuscule failure."

Natsu was was greatly startled by the drastic change in the blonde's personality. He'd seen a hint in Hargeon when he mentioned his dad, but her transition back to the hunky-dory and cheery girl had happened almost instantaneously, almost like her sadness never happened. Now that he was seeing it again, he couldn't help but wonder what it was about the talk of families that made Lucy so sad.

"Lucy's right," Happy agreed a second later. "Romeo will be proud of you no matter what." Lucy turned to smile at the blue cat, somber mood dissipated once again. Natsu let it go as he voiced his approval of her previous statement. Probably nothing too important, anyway.

When they finally made it back to Magnolia, they immediately reunited Macao with the eager Romeo, the boy crying tears of joy as he hugged his father with all the strength in his little body. Lucy could hear him calling to her and Natsu as they left for the guild, thanking them profoundly for their kind act. Giving him a small wave and a blinding smile, the three left for the guildhall.

"Plue!" Lucy cheerfully cried as she burst through the entrance of the building, Natsu walking off in the opposite direction of her destination. She quickly spotted him on the counter, curled up so tightly his long tail wrapped around his body multiple times. "Plue!" She yelled again, finally catching the fox's attention. He lifted his head up and turned his big black eyes to look at her. Lucy wordlessly held her arms wide open as Plue raced across the counter to jump into her arms, uncaring of the amount of plates he'd caused to crash to the floor.

Lucy nuzzled her cheek against Plue's, happily greeting him as she turned to Mirajane. "I hope he wasn't too much trouble while I was gone." Mirajane looked slightly amused and uncomfortable. "Oh, he wasn't so bad. He was very... uh, clean, at the very least. Managed to get the gravy of his meat everywhere but on himself." The white-haired girl declared with a strained laugh.

Taking a moment to throw a look at Plue, who didn't look the least bit remorseful, Lucy sheepishly turned back to Mirajane. "Sorry. He doesn't like it when I leave him behind and he's not sure where I am. He probably would have ran after me if we hadn't been on a freezing mountaintop. Thank you for feeding him. See you tomorrow, Natsu." She called to the fire dragon slayer mage, who was in the mist of another big fight to be and didn't seem to heard her, then turned to walk out the door, Plue cradled in her arms the entire time.

...

"You know, we're going to be interacting with these people for a while," Lucy admonished Plue as she walked confidently through the forest that evening, the sun having been setting when they'd gotten to Magnolia and the moon finally out, showcasing the forest in a white glow. So similar to another night that was permanently branded into her memory. "You're going have to learn to play nice." Plue simply huffed in response.

Lucy sighed, an exasperated and amused smile spreading across her face. This situation as a whole was going to take some getting used to, for the both of them. Being a part of a group somehow connected through pain and love, having to depend on others and be depended on in return. It's been a while since she had to do anything like that. But one thing was clear: she was going to be in Magnolia for an indefinite amount of time. And she couldn't very well spend all of it living in the forest, like she usually did. And she knew the perfect remedy for that particular problem, at least.

"So, what do you think?" She asked Plue as he stood by a little river. After spending some time walking, Lucy had come across the perfect patch of forest for what she had in mind. "I'm going to build a house here." She loudly declared. It really was a nice section of woodland, open and luscious, the water running by completing the picture of nature at its most beautiful. The air was full of the soothing sounds of animals and plants squeaking and creaking in harmony.

Not surprisingly, Plue shot her a glance that clearly questioned her sanity. Lucy easily face that look with a patient smile. "It shouldn't take more than a few hours for my spirits to complete it to our wanted specifications. Besides, our other options are to find a used apartment of our own or to spend the next few years sleeping in the forest. Having a home to call our own that's exactly how we want it and within a familiar environment will be good for us. I'm sure my spirits will agree. We do enjoy living in solitude, and this way we have tons of privacy." After taking all she said into consideration, Plue dipped his head low in agreement.

"Okay, then." Lucy declared, determination shining in her eyes like fire. "Let's get to work!" Pulling out her keys, she called, "Open: Gate of the Golden Bull and Sea Goat!"


	4. Growing Questions and the Maid Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This time, it's a little Aquarius and Lucy talk, along with the Daybreak arc.

Makarov sighed, having just come from a meeting with the magic council, already weary before he'd walked into the building. He knew he had to inform them of his successful acquisition of the Miss Lucy Heartfilia, before they found out through other means, but he didn't realize how incredibly difficult it would be to advise the council on the matter.

The minute he'd made it known that he had the target in his guild, there had been an almost immediate demand that she be brought before the council and properly interrogated on any abilities she had and why she was rumored to be a mark for dark guilds. He didn't hesitate to say no. The looks on their faces had been quite entertaining.

While he knew he was already treading on thin ice with the council, being the master of the most troublesome guild in all of Fiore, but he refused to put any of his children in a situation that would put them in danger or make them frightened or uncomfortable. Punishments and humiliation were fine, but he would not hurt his children in any way, and that included Lucy now.

Especially after his little talk with Natsu the previous day.

_So what did you think of Lucy?" He'd questioned the fire dragon slayer as they were sitting in the same arrangement as the blonde and himself had been the day before._

_Natsu had shrugged, looking pretty impassive about the conversation. "She's nice. A little weird, though." He said, snickering about a past memory._

_Happy had chimed in, floating above them lazily. "She's strong too. Managed to use some kind of water magic while we were in Hargeon to push a yacht to shore and when we on the mountain looking for Macao, she was able to hold him back while he was a big,buff Vulcan."_

_While processing the bit of information he had been given, Makarov had inquired, "Was there anything... abnormal you may have noticed about her? Anything particularly unusual?"_

_After a moment of deep thinking, Natsu had replied. "She didn't seem to like the council. Kept going on about how the bigwigs who ran it were selfish, egotistic jerks or whatever. Seemed annoyed we might have been sent by them."_

_Happy nodded, landing on Natsu's right shoulder. "Yeah, the only reason she came with us is because Natsu stuck his foot in his mouth while talking to her. I never seen someone laugh that hard in my life."_

_"Anyway..." Natsu said while throwing a glare at Happy. "She seems like a good person. Strange, but who in Fairy Tail isn't a little weird? I think she'll fit in just fine."_

While Natsu had done his best to be nonchalant, Makarov could already see he felt something for the blonde wizard. A slight feel of protectiveness and admiration, perhaps? Anyhow, it was clear from the discussion that introducing Lucy to the council to face questioning about her origin would not go well. She didn't trust them for some reason, and forcing her to see them would just guarantee she not trust the Fairy Tail guild, despite how much she seem to believe in Natsu.

He diplomatically explained that so they would get the picture. Let Lucy fester friendship and place herself into the Fairy Tail family before having her meet with people she would probably curse and scorn the minute they officially interacted.

As to her abilities, well... he still wasn't sure what kind of power she could have that would enable her to have the strength of a monster and the power to control Neptune's domain. All he could do was wait until the day she had sure faith in the guild. Then, perhaps he'd get some answers to his questions.

...

Lucy had to hand it to her spirits, they really know how to get the job done. The overall process of building the house had taken a lot longer than she had previously thought, about two days, working day and night without any breaks. Then there was the grueling process of going into town to find everything that would be needed and was wanted in the house. The looks she'd gotten when browsing shops with Capricorn, Taurus and Loke by her side had been grossly amusing, though. And that didn't even begin to cover the day they all went clothes shopping.

It had taken about a full day and a half to get all the equipment needed to make the house comfortable and livable, especially with the mountain of critique and comments from her spirits, but eventually they'd built their home sweet home.

She looked up at it now, admiring the finished product. It was about the length of a two-story cottage, made entirely of brown bricks with a navy blue rooftop. It had a total of nine windows on the front and sides, and looked majestic and sturdy, like that of a fountain. The inside was humungous in size, having five rooms in all, and held the basic materials of any regular home, a stove and oven, shower and bathtub, couches, tables and desk, a four-poster bed and everything else her spirits had suggested was best, including a bookcase and lounge chair. It was definitely one of the group's, as a whole, best work.

Looking up to see the moon was at midpoint, the sign for the middle of the night, Lucy sighed as she realized she couldn't hold it off any longer. She had to talk to Aquarius. When she'd last summoned Loke, he had stressed that he needed to inform her of this recent development, and it had to happen yesterday. She'd known she was being kept out of the loop of something, and had started threatening to drown the other spirits if they didn't spill what was up, soon! The fact that she held for this long was a testimony of her respect for Lucy's decision to tell her when she was ready.

Taking the mermaid's golden key out, she moved to kneel besides the stream, dipping the key into the water. "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!" She cried, watching as the shine of the key was subdued by the waves of water. She glanced up just as Aquarius appeared, the permanent scowl she always had when it came to Lucy already alighting her face.

"It's about time, you brat!" She growled, hands at her waist as she glowered at the blonde. "I expected you to call me yesterday."

"I'm sorry, Aquarius." Lucy excused herself, not at all deterred by her spirit's bad mood. "But I wanted to finish constructing the house first. I figured it'd be better to have no distractions while we talked."

Aquarius tsked, but otherwise gave no other evidence of her irritation. "So what's so bad you felt you had to hide it from me? What'd you do?" The blue-haired lady growled at her, sounding as though the wrong words would lead to her death.

Lucy gave a slightly strained smile, not too worried about Aquarius's reaction to the possibility of her doing something she won't approve of. It would probably be much worse when she told her her news. "I've decided to join a guild. I'm a member of the Fairy Tail guild, have been for the past few days." She said, figuring it would be better to spill the news like you would rip a bandage, swift and only a flash of pain to deal with.

For a moment, there was absolute silence. Aquarius stared at her as though she was either waiting for her to tell her she was joking or to give better news than she was receiving. Then she exploded. "WHAT?!"

Lucy continued to smile despite Aquarius's obvious ire as she began ranting. "What the hell is wrong with you, you stupid brat? Do I have to remind you why we'd decided that was a bad idea? How dare you make such an idiotic choice, and then keep this from me? Even Scorpio won't say something!" She screamed, wailing the last part.

"I didn't mean keep it from you." Lucy interrupted, unfazed at Aquarius's death glare at having her spew of words cut off. "Honestly, I asked Loke to tell the other spirits of my decision, but after some thought, we both decided you'd take the news better if it came from me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make your boyfriend keep screts from you, it wasn't my intention."

Aquarius scowled at her. "And what good reason did you have for your lapse in judgment in choosing to join a guild? Especially with a stupid name like Fairy Tail?"

Lucy looked at the stream as she answered, "Well, I met this guy named Natsu and his-" But then Aquarius cut her off. "You mean to tell me your HORMONES persuaded you to do something this stupid? Are you KIDDING me?!" She screeched.

Lucy was flabbergasted at the accusation, checks flaring at the implication of her statement. Capricorn had given her a rundown on puberty and what can come of it, and she'd rather not remember that truly embarrassing and awkward time. "No, I-"

But Aquarius proceeded to talk, too riled up to listen. "And you wonder why I call you stupid! I would have thought you'd learned your lesson after the last few times you associated with people!" Lucy couldn't help but flinched at the blatant reminder of her pain years ago, already feeling tears welling in her eyes that she refused to let fall. She had forbidden herself from crying a long time ago. "Aquarius." She called out softly.

"You hide in the forest for a reason, you have your cloak because you need to remain in the shadows! I don't know how you haven't let that sink in your head after all this time!"

"Aquarius-"

"I don't know why you can't listen. Especially after that incident with -"

Lucy snapped as she quickly realized she was going to mention _him_. "AQUARIUS," she yelled, voice echoing throughout the forest, surprising the mermaid enough to notice her master's current profile. Her cheeks were flushed from the shame flooding her veins, she was shaking from head to toe and was barely holding back tears from her brutal onslaught of painful memories. Aquarius gasped, not realizing she'd been hurting her master so much, but figuring she'd crossed a line with her claims without bothering to listen. She watched as her blonde charge gave a little sigh to calm herself down, taking great effort to bring her shivers and tears under control. She hadn't yelled at any of her spirits since that day that will remain unspoken.

"I didn't make this decision lightly, Aquarius," Lucy explained quietly, "I was fully prepared to say no and be on my merry way. But... Natsu talked about Fairy Tail like it wasn't just a guild. He spoke of it like it was a family, all united and more than willing to protect and help each other. I know..." And here, Lucy's voice broke, sounding very much like she was going to cry. But, of course, she wouldn't. "I know I have you eight, along with my silver key spirits for company, but sometimes it's so lonely living the way we do. In the two days I been around Fairy Tail and its members, I can see how much they look out for each other, how they love each other. I just... I want to be a part of that, Aquarius. I want to be around people who see me as more than what I am and what my mom's choice made me into. I just... I just..." And here, she hunched over, head in her hands as she struggled to control the storm of sadness and pain bubbling inside her.

Throughout her explanation, Aquarius was silent, watching the emotional display of her master and the overflow of everything she had trapped within. Then she gave a exasperated sigh. "You're a damn idiot, you know that right?" She questioned softly as she lifted her up by her shoulders and hugged her gently to her chest. Lucy looked quite surprised at the gesture, eyes wide and still swimming with tears, but eventually she hugged her back, nuzzling into her blue-haired spirit and breathing in her scent of lavender and coral. It's been so long since she had a hug from Aquarius, the soothing and cool feel of the water bearing spirit bringing extreme comfort to the blonde mage.

"Do you think this is where you belong? Do you truly think you'll be happy here and not suffer again, like before?" Too emotionally drained to answer verbally, Lucy just nodded as best as she could while pressed into the spirit's body. Though she gave off an annoyed sigh in response, Aquarius made no move to convince her that her decision was wrong. And it was a long while before the hug between the two friends was over.

...

Lucy took a deep breath as she sunk into the soothing warm water of her bath. She was very glad she listened to Loke's suggestion to get a water heating lacrima. It's been a lifetime since she enjoyed such an appanage. After the rather draining talk with Aquarius, that had shockingly lasted until the sun was up, she decided to spend the early morning sleeping for a few hours with Plue taking up a couch in the living room, than take a relaxing soak in the tub.

The sun was shining and now that the house building and the other strifes were out of the way, she could focus all her attention on Fairy Tail. From what she'd gathered from Loke about guilds, it was required she go on jobs and fulfilling requests. It was a bit unorthodox but doable. She suppose she might as well start so as to further integrate herself into her new family, so to speak.

She got out after a while and got dressed in a white, sleeveless dress that reached down to her knees and black boots that went up to the end of her calf. She tied her unruly hair up into a high ponytail, making sure her silver locket was secured to her neck. Checking out her appearance and making sure she was styled the way she desired, she moved from her bedroom, ready to resume her time getting to know Fairy Tail and it's members. Especially a certain pink-haired boy.

"Time to start a new day, Pl-" Lucy shouted, proceeding to the living room to wake up her fox and start their day with breakfast. She stopped as she heard the sound of someone shuffling around her living room. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard the intruders looking through her shelves and drawers. She scrunched up against the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible as her thoughts raced.

Who could have come to her home? It couldn't be a wandering stranger looking for directions or resources, because while her home was within the forest, it wasn't that far from any roads or paths to the nearest town. It couldn't be anyone from Fairy Tail, because she never had a chance to tell them of where she was residing, nor did she have the time to, seeing as she spent all her time working on her new abode. So... it must be someone looking for her. She focused for a moment and confirmed it was definitely two wizards, one massively stronger than the other.

Her first thought was that Makarov had betrayed her and the magic council had sent two lackeys to come looking for her, unwilling to follow their original decision to let her join a guild and instead choosing to take matters into their own hands. But they'd send soldiers or official workers, both of which wouldn't barge into her home like this or would have at least worked to quickly apprehend her. Perhaps it was him. Maybe he came to see her, despite everything that happened in that place, despite how he..!

Taking a deep breath to keep herself under control, she dispelled her worries. He wouldn't come here. He probably thought she was dead or didn't care either way. No need to worry about him making an appearance. But if not him, it must be someone looking for her and her power. But her feelings weren't alerting her of any kind of danger, nor was Plue reacting. Whoever it was, they weren't making any effort to keep quiet. Psyching herself up in any case, she took a deep breath and jumped from behind the wall, eyes closed and one leg out as she attacked the intruders.

"Lucy KICK!" she cried, feeling her leg connect to at least two somebodies and smash them against the wall. Hesitating, she slowly opened her eyes to see the interlopers and gasped as she saw the identity of the guilty ones.

"Natsu," Lucy called moving her leg and watching as both the dragon slayer and his blue cat slid to the floor, both looking more than a little disoriented as they laid hurt on the carpeted floor of her house. She could see Plue was awake on the glass coffee table, looking greatly amused at the scene before him. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I-"

"Geeze, Lucy," Natsu groaned, visible bruises from the attack covering his right cheek as he turned to look at her with a pouting face. "We just wanted to drop by and see how you were doing."

"Them some strong legs you got there," Happy added, voice slurred and eyes dazed with pain. Lucy's face turned red with shame as she moved to help them. After patching up any minor wounds with her magic, then quickly making a breakfast of eggs and bacon with tea for the four of them, she settled down in her gray armchair, watching as Natsu and Happy dung into their provided meal. Plue seemed disgusted at the two, carefully eating his food while glaring at the dragon slayer and blue cat.

"I'm sorry again, guys," she apologized with a sheepish smile on her face. "It didn't occur to me that anyone from Fairy Tail would be able to find my house. I thought you were a couple of thugs breaking and entering." Lucy explained, sweat-dropping over the whole issue.

"Eh, it's fine," Natsu dismissed, spit flying out of his mouth as he talked while his mouth was full. Swallowing noisily, he added, "Sides, I'd have probably done the same thing if any clueless bastard was digging around in my place."

Delighted to have been forgiven easily, Lucy asked perkily, "So how'd you two find my home? My spirits and I just finished building it around midnight, this morning in fact, and I never had the chance to tell any of you guys." Natsu replied with a shrug. "The nose always knows," He said almost mysteriously. "I can sniff out just about anybody with my sniffer."

Lucy gave a small laugh at Natsu's antics. Happy took that moment to ask as he seated himself on her table, "Hey, Lucy? What kind of magic do you use, anyway?"

"Oh, I'm a celestial wizard, Happy." She happily clarified, showcasing her eight golden keys and three silver ones. "A celestial mage can make contracts with celestial spirits, allowing us to call them whenever we're or battle or any other rational reason. These golden ones are part of the zodiac spirits, and are very special. There are twelve keys for them."

"If you're a celestial wizard, how'd you use water magic in Hargeon?" Happy questioned, frowning in confusion. Lucy gave a small laugh as she explained, "Well, in some cases, if a celestial mage has a close bond with their spirit, they can use a spell called Star Dress, which allows the user to gain access to the magic of the spirit. The magic I used in Hargeon was from my good friend, Aquarius, the water bearer."

Happy's eyes shined at the description and explanation of Lucy's power. "That sounds amazing," he commented dreamily, prompting another snort from Lucy at his adorable reaction. Then she asked, "So, why'd you two decide to visit me? Did you just come for the free food?" Natsu shook his head in refutation. "Happy and I wanted to see how you were doing. We hadn't seen you once in the past three days."

"Natsu wanted to ask you something." Happy piped up, standing on the table since the conversation moved to more serious matters. Natsu, who was just finishing his food as well, gave another shrug at Lucy's curious glance.

"Happy and I had a long talk. And we decided we'd like you and your little fox friend over there to be a part of our team."

Lucy tilted her head in confusion. "But aren't we all already apart of the team, Fairy Tail?"

"Within the guild, a group of two or more wizards can make their own teams, where we'd go on missions together and basically do jobs as one group." Happy explained.

"Is Lisanna a part of your team?" Lucy inquired. Natsu snapped his head to face her, looking at her intently as he answered, "Why would you think that?"

Lucy said, "Well, you both traveled to Hargeon together and seemed like close friends. I just thought you would have formed a team if that was an option. Was I wrong?"

Natsu stared at for a few more moments before he replied, "Lisanna and I were close when we were kids. She was my best friend,actually. We could have formed someday. But when she disappeared and we all thought she was dead..."

Happy chimed in as Natsu trailed up, seemingly unable to continue talking. "Lisanna wasn't gone for hours, Lucy, or even weeks. She was gone for nine months."

Lucy froze. "What?" She breathed, feeling her chest tighten as she now realized why Aquarius had been angry that day. She'd screamed she'd been gone for a while, but she never thought... then, with her healing coma, she'd simply forgot about the whole matter of the time in the Anima.

"For nine months, she was gone. And just when things were starting to become... more normal, she showed up out of the blue because of some hooded guy. And while I was happy she wasn't dead, it's not like we could just go back to what we were before. Mirajane and Elfman wanted to make up for lost time, and I was happy to let them. I know what it's like to want to have another chance with your family. But, after that, we grew apart and she eventually made a team with them." Natsu explained, spending the entire time looking out at the stream flowing outside with a solemn expression on his face.

Lucy could feel a lump forming in her throat as she imagined the pain and regret the guild had went through all those months till Lisanna came back. Traveling through dimensions could cause time to speed up, but she never thought she had made her family suffer for that long.

She knew her thinking was more than a little irrational and that Aquarius would strangle her for focusing on that, but she couldn't help how she felt. It almost felt like what she'd done had been too little, too late. "I'm sorry," she said softly, looking down at her knees with hooded eyes.

Natsu frowned at her, unsure why Lucy looked so depressed after the story. "Ehh, nothing we can do about it now," He dismissed, his mouth curling up into his signature grin as he spoke again. "So, want to join our team?" Lucy looked up from her lap, thoroughly confused as to where this choice to form a group with her had come from. "Why?"

Natsu gave another shrug, smile still in place. "You're nice. And the way you held your own against the Vulcan, me and Happy are sure you'll be an awesome addition to our team. Your pet furball, too." He said, indicating Plue, who showed his teeth at the backhanded insult.

Lucy exchanged a glance at Plue as she thought this offer through. While she knew Plue greatly disapproved of the fire dragon slayer and the flying cat, he wouldn't hesitate to follow her lead should she choose to join their team.

As for Lucy, she honestly saw no reason to say no. Natsu was her closet ally, and it made sense for her to stay close to him to keep him and herself out of trouble. Also, she felt... happy when she was around him. A feeling of great warmth enveloped her whenever she saw his passion and his comic way of acting and thinking. And she wanted to explore that feeling, and see where it would take her.

"Yes... I would like that very much." Lucy said, eyes shining with happiness. Natsu's grin grew bigger as he yelled, "All right! And I got the perfect first job for us."

...

It was after a quick rush to pack the essentials into her trusty shoulder bag, and making sure Plue was secure in her arms that Lucy ran to meet Happy and Natsu, who clearly packed their own things, judging by the murky-green duffel bags, dark red blanket and light green knapsack. Not long after, they were riding a carriage pulled by two bulls.

Lucy stared down at Natsu, concern clear on her face at the dragon slayer's battle with his upset stomach as they made their way to Shirotsume, while Plue seemed more than a little revolted. The pink-haired mage had kneeled over the instant the ride had commenced, groaning and moaning while pressing his face to the floor. When Lucy had expressed worry on his condition, Happy had gleefully explained that his magic caused this reaction. Nothing to worry about, the blue cat had assured her as he poked and prodded Natsu in his weaken state.

Choosing to leave the pair alone for a while, Lucy took a moment to examine the job request Natsu had hastily dropped on the seat as the trip had started. It seemed very easy, just a request to destroy a book owned by a Duke Everlue with a reward of two hundred thousand Jewels. Not something she thought would be appropriate for a guild, this task seemed more than possible for a regular individual.

Confused and a little suspicious about the matter, Lucy turned her focus back to the sick fire mage and his flying cat. "Natsu, I don't understand what so special about this job that makes it perfect for us. It seems unchallenging and something the two of you could do easily with your caliber of skill. I don't see how you need me."

Natsu slowly turned his head to the side to give her as much of a smirk as he could when nauseous, while Happy laughed, flying over to her and pointing to a small piece of text on the bottom, written almost like an afterthought. Rereading the request, she saw that the Duke Everlue was looking for a maid with blonde hair to join his staff. Blinking, Lucy turned to look back at Natsu and Happy, who were chuckling in amusement at her realization. Plue looked ready to rip their organs out should she be even slightly perturbed at the blatant reason they asked her on this mission.

Thinking about the situation she was currently in, Lucy saw no reason to be annoyed like the two members expected her too. If anything, it was quite intelligent, using her physical appearance to their advantage in order to have a chance at success when completing this job. Also, it was very unlikely that the particular requirement that she happened to fulfill was the reason she was chosen to be on the team with Natsu and Happy, as was evident from their talk this morning.

So she simply smiled at the two, cheerfully, saying, "Quite brilliant deductive reasoning, Natsu. I have a feeling we'll all be a great team.", unaware of the look of confusion on Happy's face and the stoic expression Natsu shot her before his motion sickness overcame him again.

...

After a few hours of traveling, they arrived in the town of Shirotsume town, allowing Natsu a few minutes to worship the ground after they exited the carriage, before making their way to a trendy-looking restaurant near the front of town. While Lucy put down some Jewels for them to eat, she had refrained from partaking in the small lunch herself, claiming she had a few supplies to gather before disappearing among a crowd of people with Plue laying in her bag.

It was when Lucy was gone from view that Natsu finally allowed himself to think about what had happened that very morning. His talk with Gramps had reminded him that it was actually the council that had wanted Lucy nearby, to protect her and her power. He'd gotten a thorough taste of it this morning, the force of her legs hitting the side of his face almost enough to knock his teeth out and leave his face bruised for hours. Natsu knew it took a lot to damage him, so the fact that one attack from her caused that much injury spoke volumes. Hard to believe someone who just summoned other people could be that strong.

Then there was the talk this morning. He had been caught off guard by her inquisitions about Lisanna being on his team. He had to bring up the nine months, so she understood why that wasn't an option. He had thought he was past it enough to be able to mention it causally, but it seems that he was wrong. The pain would always be there, he supposed, but at the very least, it wasn't as hard to think about as it would have been six years previously.

It may have been eons ago and Lisanna may have been back now, but it wouldn't take away the months they thought she was dead or stop him from mourning their once, close friendship, ruined by a near death experience. Mirajane became a mothering sweetheart and Elfman became a manly brute. They had to move on, only to be pulled back into that sorrow in the wake of her return. And it couldn't be fixed. Now, the two of them were on different sides of the same river, with no hope of ever ending up on the same side. They would always be friends, because of course he was friends with everyone in Fairy Tail, but it could never be how it used to be.

And they didn't even have any prayer of putting that situation behind them for good until they found that anonymous person who brought her back. And after years of searching, none of them were anywhere close to knowing something as simple as the gender of the figure, much less the guy's name.

Shaking his head and choosing to let go of those negative and practical thoughts for now, Natsu dug into his feast of steak and big dishes of drumsticks. He could see Happy joyfully chowing down across from him and couldn't help but wonder what could have been so important Lucy missed lunch for? As a team, they should be eating together! As Happy was helping him to put a plate aside for the blonde mage, he heard footsteps and could smell Lucy coming towards their table.

He looked up to greet her, only for his mouth to fall to the floor at her present attire. Lucy was now dressed in a maid uniform with stocking and small black shoes, messy hair now tied into a tight bun, smiling as though what she done was perfectly normal. Plue was now on her right shoulder, almost looking like a furry parrot.

"What the heck are you wearing?!" Natsu screamed, attracting the attention of the residents of the restaurant. Lucy gave a big closed-eyed smile. "It's an outfit I found in one of the shops. I have to look the part if I'm going to get the job, correct?"

Natsu sweat-dropped as he replied, "That wasn't... I mean, we didn't mean... Oh, whatever." And they all resumed their meal without another word, Lucy giving half of her lunch to her white shoulder friend.

After finishing their lunch, they made their way to the client's abode, the name of the man being Kaby Melon. After entering the towering mansion, they were lead to a small room by the owner's wife. While Natsu and Happy oohed and awwed at the furnished inside, Lucy couldn't help but note how empty it was. No servants or indication that anyone else was living there, despite the extravagant home. Peculiar.

They seated themselves on a felt couch, facing a grey-haired man with a small mustache and impressive suit. "Hello there. My name is Kaby Melon. It's a pleasure to meet members of the Fairy Tail guild."

Natsu and Happy preened excitedly, while Lucy gave her signature closed-eye smile and her Plue giving a disinterested look from his position on her lap. Kaby continued speaking. "Now, to business. The job is like it says on the request. I need you to go to Duke Everlue's place and swipe a certain book in his possession for me. It's called Daybreak."

Natsu held up a single finger blowing fire. "Sure thing, pal. If you want, I'll burn the whole place down." He said cheerfully. "Natsu likes fire." Happy explained to the slightly stunned looks on the client and his wife's face.

Lucy quickly questioned, "Excuse me, but why do you wish to destroy this book, sir?"

Natsu commented, "For two hundred thousand Jewel, who the heck cares why?"

"Actually, the reward is now two million Jewel. I'm sorry, I thought you got the memo." While Natsu and Happy's minds were blown by this reveal and trying to figure out how the money would be split three-ways, Kaby turned to smile at Lucy. "And to answer your question, sweet miss, it's a very delicate matter. It means very much to me, making sure it's destroyed. No matter what it may cost." He explained, clenching his hands in front of himself and expression grim.

After a moment to process the explanation, Lucy saw Natsu's head set on fire, before he sprang to his feet and confidently exclaimed, "Yeah! I'm fired up now. Let's get going, Lucy!" And then he grabbed her right wrist and was out the door, Happy hanging on to his scarf and Plue secured in her left arm, while he left a huge cloud of dirt in their wake.

...

Almost an hour after they left Kaby Melon, Lucy found herself in front of the mansion of Duke Everlue. After requesting Plue stay with Natsu and Happy behind a tree with her bag, Lucy knocked on the giant gate, shouting, "Excuse me, I heard you needed a maid and I'm here to apply."

A few minutes after her proclamation, she heard the sound of the ground behind her crackling before it exploded open, a giant, pink-haired woman in a maid costume jumping out of the ground before landing noisily beside her.

"So you're a maid? Here to answer the ad master sent out?" the woman asked, voice so low in tone, she almost sounded like a man. Lucy gave a dazed nod, thoroughly distracted by the woman's appearance. So, Duke Everlue was a celestial mage and the woman in front of her was a celestial spirit. Astounding.

Reminding herself to focus, as Happy and Natsu were counting on her, she declared, "Yes, my name is Lucy.", bowing her head at the spirit. She heard the sound of someone else jumping out of the ground behind her and looked up to see a stubby, brown-haired man in a suit with a mustache that seemed to grow out of his nose. Lucy figured this must be Duke Everlue.

"Did I hear someone came to be my new maid?" He crooned gleefully, twirling his little mustache as he echoed the pink-haired maid's inquisition. Lucy nodded and bowed again, a bright smile on her face as she confirmed, "Yes, I hope you'll give me this opportunity to serve you."

There was a tense silence as the duke studied her, a glare growing on his face at each passing second. Then he turned from her, waving his hand in dismissal. "I apologize, but a man at my level and power must uphold certain standards. I can't hire anyone whose less than fairest, so scam, ugly."

Lucy felt dazed for a moment. This man was calling her ugly. Her spirits, Aquarius, Capricorn and Cancer, always said she looked like her mom. So for him to call her ugly... it meant he was insulting her mom. She could feel her anger growing, the familiar instinct to defend her long-dead parents taking the forefront of her mind. How date he! She could feel the dark aura shrouding her, making the air colder and the atmosphere thick.

She'd rip that mustache out of his fat nose and shove it down his throat. She'd-

Lucy stared as she heard a small whine from behind her, as well as a whisper, asking if she was okay. Plue. He was worried for her, trying to make sure she was okay, that she wasn't losing Natsu and Happy were behind her, concerned like good friends were. She took a deep breath, dispelling any negative emotions. She turned her focus to the duke, who was glaring at her, unaware of how much danger he'd been in.

"Are you as deaf as you are hideous? Get off my property." He screamed. Lucy felt another stab of anger fill her heart, but simply said in a controlled voice. "I apologize. Thank you for seeing me." Then, with another bow, she walked away, feeling the unwavering look of the pink-haired spirit on her retreating back. She made her way to the trees, a great distance from the mansion, where the other three met her, Natsu and Happy shaking their heads in disappointment, and Plue sitting still, staring at her with concern clear in his big eyes.

"Couldn't get him even a little interested, huh?" Natsu complained. Lucy picked up Plue and held him to her chest, face burrowed into his stomach. She didn't say anything and seem to be trembling. Happy walked towards her, sounding uncertain. "Lucy? You okay?"

The blue cat and the dragon slayer exchanged looks, unsure of what to do. "Hey, it's okay if you couldn't go in as a maid. It's just his opinion, you know, about your looks. We'll sneak in another way, really!" Natsu assured her, more than a little out of his depth pertaining to this situation. "Yeah," Happy agreed, trying desperately to cheer up the blonde mage. " We'll bust in and take the book that way. And Natsu will still burn the house down, if you want him to."

They heard a cute snort at that and than Lucy lifted up her head, a small smile on her face. "Okay." She responded, making her way to the trees to change her outfit, Plue still securely in her arms.

...

After Lucy changed her clothes, they decided to simply break into the house and steal the book, while remaining unseen. After Happy flew the three to the roof, Natsu cleanly burned a hole in one of the windows, leaving a big opening for them to slip through into the house.

"Why couldn't we have just used one of my attacks to break the door down? That would be much better than this whole be quiet crap." Natsu grumbled, the group edging there way through the building and occasionally looking through any room they passed by. Lucy laughed, Plue bristling in her arms as she explained. "Natsu, that would be worse than breaking and entering. We'd probably end up in jail for it. Being silent and stealthy will ensure we complete this job without too much trouble."

Natsu seemed to think on her words for a second. "Stealthy..? Like a ninja?!" He exclaimed, Happy sounding just as excited as he chimed in too. Lucy have another giggle at their reasoning. "Sure, Natsu, like ninjas." She agreed, chuckles clear in her voice as they rounded the hallway.

Only for them to come face to face with another maid, this one bony and face resembling a mold of battered clay. She immediately screamed, "Intruder alert. Virgo, there are intruders!" Four other maids appeared, including the pink-haired celestial spirit, who was at the frontline.

"Let's crush them, girls!" The one called Virgo ordered. Moving past the giant maid, Lucy kicked the other maids away, sending them flying away and out of commission. She turned to see Natsu fling the maid Virgo up with his flaming fist, then a fiery kick into a statue, crying, "Ninja Attack!", his scarf wrapped around his face. After the maid was confirmed to be unconscious, they noticed a giant door down the stairs.

They opened it to discover a massive library. "Whoa... there are many books in this library," Natsu remarked, voice clipped, trying to sound like a ninja. "Aye, sir, there are." Happy agreed, mimicking the dragon slayer's tone.

"Well," Lucy proclaimed, setting Plue down and heading towards a section of the library. "We know if the book the client wants destroyed is anywhere in this house, it'll be here." Natsu nodded, moving the scarf back to its original place around his neck. "Let get cracking!" He yelled vigorously, hopping from foot to foot as he moved to another part of the place.

Soon after that, Natsu began screaming about finding a certain sparkly book. Lucy looked at the title, letting the group know it was indeed the book they were looking for, Daybreak.

"Great job, Natsu!" Lucy complimented. Natsu puffed his chest out and bragged, "Heh, did you expect anything less from me? I'm just awesome like that." Then he lit his hand on fire. "Well, let's get this over with."

Just as his fire hand was about to touch the book, it was quickly swiped from him. He turned to see it was now in Plue's mouth, his expression that of glaring in anger, though what was provoking such an emotion from him was unclear.

"Hey, fox freak. We didn't come to play. We got a book to burn, so hand it over." Natsu said, giving his own glare at the fox before jumping to retrieve the book, only for Plue to run behind Lucy, hitting her insistently with the book while it was still in his mouth.

"Plue," Lucy gently admonished, kneeling down to be eye level with him. "We have a job to do..." Then Lucy's sentence trailed off as she took a closer look at the book. She quietly took it from Plue and began reading it.

"Lucy, come on. Our job is to destroy the book, not read it!" Natsu reminded her, annoyance clear in his voice. Lucy ignored his anger, not taking her eyes off her reading material as she explained, "Plue noticed something about the book. I didn't see it before, but now I'm aware that this book is enchanted and there's a secret hidden within the pages. And I want to find out if it's something to do with Duke Everlue or Kaby Melon. Perhaps this whole mission was a way to destroy some wrongdoing."

That caught the fire mage's attention. "You think it might be to cover up some crime?" He exclaimed, sounding more than a little pissed.

"I'm not sure. It's just, I have just realized how suspicious this all is. We being paid two million to do something as simple as steal and burn a book. Any regular person could do it, so why go to wizards to accomplish it? Also, we find the book, only to see it's enchanted, so that must mean it's hiding something. I'll have to read it to prove my theory, though." Lucy took her eyes off the book for a moment to smile at Plue. "Wonderful work, Plue. I'll make you your favorite meals when we get home."

"Ohyoiyoiyo. What have we here? Here for the Daybreak book, I see." Duke Everlue yelled as he burst through the ground into the library. "I've noticed that wizards were coming to my abode for something I had, but I never thought it'd be for that work of rubbish." Lucy examined the new information carefully. The duke didn't care for the book, was even openly calling it garbage, so it probably contained no transgressions concerning him. Which just left Kaby.

"How dare you put your dirty, hideous hands on my possessions, not to mention sneak into my home and hurt my precious girls. Come forth, Vanish brothers!" Everlue shouted, a circular door opening at the side to reveal two strange-looking men.

"You called, sir?" A white-skinned, Chinese man with a new giant frying pan asked. The sasquatch, dark-skinned man beside him turned his neutral expression to the four invaders. "Can you believe Fairy Tail thought they'd sneak in here so easily? We'll crush these runts in a snap."

"These guys are from the Southern Wolves guild. They're mercenaries." Happy declared, just a touch of anxiety in his voice. Natsu cracked his knuckles, undeterred by the menacing newcomers. "Got bodyguards, huh?" He observed, still the face of calm.

Lucy quickly got up, "Natsu, I need some time to figure out the significance of this book. Try to hold them off while I uncover the secret."

"No problem. Try not to get too distracted by it." He cautioned slightly mockingly, his hands set ablaze as he prepared to fight, while Lucy exited the library, Happy and Plue right on her heels. Almost immediately after she left, Everlue disappeared down into the ground, stating, "I'm going after the girl. Rip this man to little pieces, till there's nothing left."

"Hey boys, who here knows what happens when you play with fire?" the fire wizard. said, his whole body set aflame as he spoke. "No takers? Well, here's the answer: you get BURNED!" Then Natsu propelled himself towards the two.

...

Lucy was currently in the sewers underneath the mansion, focusing all her attention on the material in front of her. Plue was dozing beside her and Happy was on her head, trying and failing to keep up with the speed she was using to read Daybreak. While reading, she analyzed the words and was able to figure out what was so important about this book.

"So that's the secret, huh?" She said aloud, almost like she was talking to herself and effectively startling the cat on top of her. "Happy, we have to deliver this book to Kaby Melon right away." She told him, getting prepared to leave.

"Oh, I don't think so, dear." A voice suddenly sneered as the sweaty hand of Duke Everlue reached through the wall and attempted to grab her arms. She quickly flipped back, taking Plue and Happy with her before he could grab either of them. The duke moved from the wall and continued to address her, "Now be a good little girl and share that secret."

Setting the two animal friends down with Daybreak, Lucy raised her hands in a fighting stance, "You don't care for this book. Let us go, so that it can be where it rightfully belongs."

The Duke yelled, "You thieving brat! Is it an expose on my illegal activities? A footnote on the true way I gained my fortune? Whatever it may be, you'll tell me what it is, even if I have to torture you within an inch of your life to get that information!" He then pulled out a golden key.

"Wow, Lucy. He uses those keys to summon people just like you do!" Happy pointed out as they watched Everlue wave the key around while saying, "Open, Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!"

They ground in front of the duke erupted as the giant, pink-haired woman from before appeared. "Did my master summon me?" She bellowed, taking her place in front of Duke Everlue.

Happy was terrified, looking ready to flying away with Lucy and Plue. However, Lucy seemed totally fine with this situation, relaxing the instant Virgo settled, which thoroughly confused the blue cat and angered the duke. "Hello there, Virgo. It's nice to meet an unfamiliar celestial spirit." She said, cheery smile in place.

"We'll see if you have anything to smile about when we're through with you. Virgo, take the book and grab the girl!" The ginormous maid lunged at the blonde celestial wizard, who simply stood there until Virgo was about a foot away from her. Then she screamed, "Natsu, now!", jumping to the side as the dragon slayer in question jumped up from the maid's back and slammed a fistful of fire into the back of the celestial spirit's head.

Happy proclaimed in wonder, "Lucy, how'd you know Natsu was there?!" Lucy answered as they both watched Natsu shoot a breath of fire at the maid. "Oh, I sensed his magic when Virgo appeared. I figured he was waiting for the right moment to strike." Then she turned a steely expression to the duke, who was covering in fear as the battle proceeded. "Now to take care of that horrible man." Lucy stated in a cold voice. Then she began to glow the color white.

When the shining stopped, Lucy was dressed in a cow-pattern, buttoned vest and pants with a long-sleeved leather jacket, her hair up in two buns on either side of her head. She also had on cow-patterned gloves, a whip and belt, along with a bag at her side with the Taurus zodiac symbol. She grabbed her whip from her side and rushed towards the duke.

Duke Everlue looked ready to escape back into the ground, but Lucy used her whip to strike the ground he was sinking to. "Earth Wave!" She yelled, rupturing the ground and sending the horrid man flying through the air. Then she grabbed him from midair with her whip and tugged him in her direction, sending him screaming and flying towards her as she brought her fist back in preparation of her attack. "Lucy Punch!" She cried, socking the man in the face and knocking him out cold. His face was now covered in ugly black and red bruises, making him barely recognizable.

"Oh," Lucy noted, sheepish as she changed back to her original clothes of a white dress and boots, "I may have been a bit too hard on him." Natsu laughed, standing victoriously on the celestial spirit. "That was awesome, Lucy. Way to show that guy the one, two." Lucy couldn't help but join his laughter. Then she walked forward to the injured duke, taking the golden zodiac key that was still clenched in his greedy, spiteful hands.

She strolled over to the pink-haired woman, kneeling before her as she spoke, "I'm sorry we had to fight you, celestial spirit Virgo. Please know if there was another way to take down Everlue, I would have done it. Know that I'm taking your key now, and I will happily make a contract with you and fight beside you, like with all my other spirits."

The spirit gazed up at her, eyes intense as she answered, "Thank you, great light. It would be an honor to serve you." Then Virgo disappear with a flash of light. Not even fire minutes after that, the entire building began shaking, as though an earthquake had hit them.

"Oh, I think all those holes Everlue made, plus my attack may be bringing the entire structure down." Lucy said while sweat-dropping with an uneasy smile, picking up Plue as more pieces of the ceiling rained down. Moving fast, Natsu grabbed her right wrist and dragged her through the collapsing tunnel. "I like your style, Lucy. Your first mission and you're destroying mansions?! You'll fit right in with Fairy Tail." he said, a huge grin on his face as he and Happy sped away from the pitiful remains of what used to be a great piece of architecture.

...

Natsu glanced at the blonde celestial wizard as they made their way home, Lucy easily going along with his insistence that they walk home rather than ride another carriage, her little fox walking about an inch behind her.

It wasn't until they were back at that Kaby Melon's place that he finally learned why Lucy wanted to give the book back to Kaby. She explained that Zekua Melon, Kaby's father, had written it and alway intended for his son to have his final message, from father to son. Therefore, it was only his hands that would lift the enchantment, revealing an elaborate letter from his dad. After that revelation, Kaby had decided not to destroy the book, meaning the two million Jewel was no longer theirs to receive.

Natsu didn't push the issue, having figured out that Kaby didn't have the money to pay them, seeing as the house wasn't his or his wife. When he questioned Lucy on why she also didn't say something, she had declared she knew the client wasn't as rich as he tried to seem. The lack of servants and workers had apparently tipped her off.

Really, the more time he spent with Lucy, the less he could figure out who or what she was. When they'd been in front of Duke Everlue's place, he could feel the air growing darker after he had deemed her ugly. The only thing that calmed her down was Plue's slight intervention, and even then, she had hugged the fox like he was the most comforting thing in Fiore.

And it raised questions as to what exactly her fox was. He was sentient enough that he recognized the negative emotions from Lucy and somehow know that the book they were here to burn had a spell on it. Then, during that fight that brought the literal house down, he saw another one of Lucy's outfits, this one giving her the strength to break sections of the brick floor and put a variety of bruises on the Duke's face with just one swing of her fist. Also, there was her baffling expertise on what a rich individual's household was like, despite her overall gruff and wild appearance.

Ultimately, he just wasn't sure who she was. The way she acts most of the time is so happy and carefree, just instances like that of by the gate brought out this dark aura from her, reminding him of just how dangerous she was and how much he didn't really know her. Despite all that, he still liked her and felt almost drawn to her. And even if she didn't trust him with whatever pain she had or power she possessed, he was more than willing to wait until the time when she was willing to tell him.

Just as they finished walking through a thick bog, a bush started shaking near their path. Not even hesitating for a second, Natsu flung his gear aside and jumped behind the bush, intent on meeting the threat head on, and attack it before it could get them.

"Natsu?" He heard Lucy cry curiously. Then he jumped back,scowling at his opponent as he leapt up as well. "Ice brain?" the dragon slayer growled, landing on the ground and still prepared to fight.

Gray Fullbuster landed a few feet from him, arms raised up and in nothing but his underwear. They glared at each other as Lucy, Happy and Plue stepped towards them. "Hello Gray, what are you doing in the forest?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"I was heading back from a job. And just when I'm trying to find a bathroom, I get attacked by an idiot!" Gray seethed, icy look never wavering from Natsu. The air was filled with angry static as they traded steely looks with on another. Then Gray relaxed, standing tall despite his current state of dressing. "Calm down, flame breath, we can fight later. We gotta get back to the guildhall quick, though."

Natsu blinked in confusion at the 180 Gray had just pulled. "Why, what's happening at the guild?" He asked as Gray put his clothes back on.

Shivering as he spoke, Gray said, "Ezra's due back in a day or two." Natsu and Happy gasped, feeling the same terror and dread that Gray was obviously feeling. A bit clueless regarding their actions, Lucy asked innocently, "Whose Erza? Is she another member of Fairy Tail?"

"Not just any member," Happy explained with a shaking voice, "Erza Scarlet is the strongest and scariest female member of Fairy Tail. She's powerful enough to bring down three mountains with one kick!"

"Don't exaggerate, Happy. It's only one mountain she'd be able to bring down with a single kick," Gray corrected. Lucy couldn't help but laugh at the little picture of a giant, silhouetted girl stomping down mountains they provided for a visual aid in their description of Erza.

"She sounds quite tough, I can't wait to meet her in person," Lucy declared happily while Plue looked like he'd just finished eating dirt. Natsu and Gray turned to give identical dumbfounded expressions. "Anyway," Gray emphasized as he turned to head back to Magnolia, "We should get back. Soon."

Just as Natsu was about to pick up his discarded things and follow him, he suddenly noticed Lucy's face turn serious and angry. Just as he was about to ask about her suddenly shift in mood, she suddenly started emitting a red glow. When it was gone, he saw she was now dressed in an red and white gi with disconnected arm warmers, the sleeves slanted so that the side facing outward reached past her hips. She completed the look with a pair of black spandex shorts and black low-heeled boots that reached halfway past her ankle. Her long blond hair was now tied into an elaborate braid with a metal hairband.

She held in hands out, the three others watching in shock as she shot some kind of small sand typhoon at some trees nearby. Even more surprising was when they saw five men twirling around in the hurricane after being picked up by the current, spinning for a few moments before the storm abruptly stopped, discarding the group in front of them, all tangled up and injured.

"What the... I mean, why the..." Gray stammered, looking back and forth from the displaced figures and Lucy, who had changed back into her original form of dressing and hairstyle and was now staring at the men with her arms on her hips and a cool expression.

"These men were about to launch an attack on us. They were going to cast some form of destructive magic at us, so I struck first." The blonde explained cleanly, turning to glance at Natsu, "These aren't members of Fairy Tail, correct? They aren't like Gray?" She questioned.

"Yeah, Lucy. They're definitely not part of the guild," Natsu confirmed, studying the five would-be attackers. Just as he walking forward to question the scumbags, suddenly a big mass of shadow swelled beneathed them and they were devoured. The five individuals started, looking around for the wizard who did this, but all was quiet. However, Natsu had a feeling that this wasn't the end of it. There was definitely more trouble ahead. And it would count on him and his new team to fight.

...

Lucy sighed as she watched Plue dig into his roast turkey with big burst of energy from where she was seated on the couch. It was always adorable when the fox was acting like a slob. Sighing, she got up to walk over to one of the windows, watching the serene environment of the forest.

This first mission was very much a lot of fun, although there were more than a few bumps in the road. Her anger at Everlue and her unintentional annihilation of someone else's property had been some very regrettable things. She'd let her feelings get the best of her this trip and she knew she needed to start working to keep herself under control again. Didn't want anything to happen like the last time, her lapses in judgment resulting in a few remorseful endings.

However, she gained another celestial spirit and showcased more of her abilities to a few members of Fairy Tail. She wondered what Natsu thought of her skills and if he was happy to have her on his team.

"Angel." Lucy turned to see Loke behind her, dazzled smile in place. She smiled brightly at him. "Hello, Loke. It's nice to see you. Is there something you needed?"

Loke fixed his sunglasses, voice smooth as velvet as he replied, "Just wanted to see how your first mission went. Is being in a guild as great as I said it'd be?"

Lucy laughed sheepishly, "Well, I destroy public property and seriously injured someone's face before stealing a zodiac key from said person. So yes, being in the Fairy Tail guild is just as interesting as you thought." The two took a moment to laugh at the ridiculousness that was this present day. Then there was a comfortable silence.

Loke sighed after a few seconds of quiet. "Truth be told, Lucy, I actually did come here for a reason. I have a request, something I would very much like to do. But I won't do it without your blessing. And if you don't approve of this, you can always say no. I won't get mad if you do."

Lucy turned around to fully face the lion spirit, wondering what this was about and whether this would be the first time she denied her spirits of something in a long time.


	5. The First Mission of the Strongest Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think the title speaks for itself. Enjoy!

_The rain was relentless, soaking through her clothes beneath the cloak, leaving her chilled to the bone. She had waited too long to eat, letting her fear and growing paranoia get the better of her, and now she was too weak to shop for food correctly. She was stumbling along the cobbled streets, feeling the slight heat from stores around her, but unable to focus with the rain freezing her to her core. The fact that she hadn't slept in weeks wasn't helping matters; the bags under her eyes and her exasperation making it hard to see. She could feel her knees buckling beneath her, struggling to remain standing for a little longer. Eventually, she found a secluded spot near the edge of town with a giant weeping willow to at least shield her from the rain. Lucy slid down the tree trunk until she was sitting on its roots, leaning heavily against the tree. She was so tired and too weak to move. The blonde could feel her lightheadedness growing, making her feel as though she was barely there. She absently wondered, was this what dying felt like? It wasn't as bad as she had thought._

_She wondered what her parents must think of her now. Couldn't even last a month before she managed to kneel over. How pathetic. They had died for her, her whole family and the other people she had loved, and she couldn't survive for them like she had promised. But at least she could be with her parents again. At least now, this constant pain could come to an end._

_And with that cheery thought, Lucy's eyes fluttered closed, not truly registering the silhouetted figure coming towards her._

...

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that for me?"

The next day found Lucy Heartfilia, now dressed in a black T-shirt and skirt with her hair tied into a sideways ponytail, bright and early at the Guildhall, currently conversing with Mirajane. What was surprising about the meeting was the presence of her celestial spirit, Loke, who was now petting Plue while he innocently slumbered.

Lucy said again, "I would like my friend, Loke, to join Fairy Tai, please." Mirajane seemed conflicted, eyes straying to stare at the suit-wearing lion spirit as she replied, "Uh, not that I disapprove of this request, but I am confused. If Loke is already a part of your arsenal, so to speak, why would it be necessary for him to become a member of the guild?"

The blonde replied, "Well, you see, there was a time where Loke was stuck in the human world. Been here for almost two years exactly. And he had heard of Fairy Tail and had a great desire to join your guild."

"What happened?" Mirajane questioned.

Lucy smiled. "I got to him first." At this, she shared a warm look with Loke, then turned back to the white-haired mage. "We've been together ever since, but now that I'm a part of this guild, he wants to become a member too, since he didn't have a chance the first time. He just asked me last night if it was okay."

After a moment of studying the two, Mirajane slowly nodded. "I suppose there's nothing wrong with it. I see no problem with it, at least. And I know the master will be all right with it." When Lucy had questioned the third master's whereabouts, the white-haired woman had said he'd gone to visit the magic council and should be back before lunch. While suspecting the reason for said visit, the blonde decided not to make a big deal out of it. Makarov had to report her acceptance to the council, and she saw no reason to fault him for that.

Lucy clapped her hands excitedly, watching with a great happiness as Loke got his blue Fairy Tail mark on his back. After he put his shirt back on, Lucy was hugging him. "Oh, I'm so happy for you!" She congratulated him. Loke gave a soft laugh as he hugged her back, a small smile on his face as he glanced down at her.

"Thanks, Angel," he said with slight reverence in his voice. Then he slipped out of her arms and began walking away, waving his left hand at her while doing so. "Now if you excuse me, I've got a date tonight. Got to look my best for the future ex Mrs. Loke." And with that, he was gone.

"What about you, Lucy? Are you going to stay in the guild today?" Mirajane questioned her, turning her doe eyes to her. Lucy politely declined. "I can't today. I was hoping to explore Magnolia today, seeing how most of it is pretty new to me. Maybe check around for a library or something like that."

"Did you say library?" Lucy turned to see a blue-haired girl with an orange headband and about a foot shorter than herself, inquiring about her plans for the day. "Do you like reading too? I'm Levy Mcgarden, by the way."

"Oh, yes. I love to read. Whenever I visit a new place, I'm always on the lookout for new material. I suppose it's safe to assume you enjoy books as well?" the blonde replied.

Levy answered, "Yeah, can't get enough of them actually. If you want, I can show you all the best libraries and bookstores. I was about to look for some more reading material myself." Lucy nodded enthusiastically. "I would love that!" she exclaimed, and then the two of them were out the door, the start of a beautiful friendship already underway.

...

Mirajane sighed as she watched the pair leave, glad she was able to act naturally around the blonde despite what she'd found out about her. Or at least, what Lisanna suspected of her.

_"You think Lucy was the one who saved you when you were eleven?!" Mirajane had practically screamed, looking at her sister with complete shock on her face. "Why would you think that?"_

_"I don't know. It's just, the way she talked about the hooded guy's reasons for leaving seemed pretty spot on. Like she was speaking from experience or something. And the way she sometimes acts, like she's used to being in the shadows, you won't believe the number of times we found her sleeping deep in the forest when we were traveling from Hargeon. Then, Natsu said she was acting weird when he was talking to her about my disappearance, almost... guilty. Or incredibly sad, at least," Lisanna had reasoned frantically._

_"Hmmm," Mirajane mused as she absently rubbed the counter top, "that doesn't seem like enough evidence, Lisanna. I mean, that could be true for anyone."_

_Lisanna sighed, slumping over the counter. "I know it seems like I'm grasping at straws and that I'm trying to fit puzzle pieces where they don't belong, but I just have this feeling about her. And if I have to keep digging for you to see what I see, then so be it," she had declared, determination shining in her eyes as she made her vow._

Mirajane knew Lisanna had never fully recovered from the incident six years ago. I mean, who would recover after losing nine months of your life, only to come back to people just starting to recover from her death? She herself hadn't recovered as well as she seemed, and she knew her siblings noticed it. She hadn't taken a job since that day, and her will to actually fight was almost non-existent.

She had promised her sister she'd help her find her anonymous savior, allowing her to get some closure for this experience, and the two hadn't given up yet. But if Lucy was the mysterious rescuer... why not say anything? And what would that mean for herself and Lisanna?

Contrary to what she let her siblings believe, she had been dragging her feet regarding the search for Lisanna's rescuer. She was grateful, but she couldn't stop thinking about that incident without remembering what a failure she was. All her powers of demon-hood and she couldn't even save her sister or stop her brother. Someone else had to step in and do it for her. And if it was Lucy... how would she be able to look at her? How would the blonde not be a constant reminder of everything she had and could have lost?

Regardless of where this would lead the three of them, she could only keep herself together and hope that this situation doesn't turn drastic somehow.

...

The next few days for Lucy were either spent reading with Levy, hanging out in the guildhall with Natsu and Happy, or exploring the city of Magnolia for herself. The city itself was thriving, full of bustling people and colorful shops. The forest was an extraordinarily beautiful place, the grass very comfortable for both her bare feet and for those incidents where she would sleep directly under the stars.

And the more time she spent with the guild in general, the more she and Plue grew more comfortable around the people. Well, her more than Plue, who was less hostile but continued to make trouble for the other members when he had the chance. Levy and she had become quick friends, bonding over their full day of window shopping and book reading, while her time spent with Natsu made her even more enamored with the dragon slayer, despite her initial reservations about the guild. Even Loke had become fast friends with Gray, which honestly surprised her, seeing as she had yet to see a hint of a smile on the dark blue-haired wizard, but to each their own. Overall, it was clear that both Fairy Tail and Magnolia were quickly becoming closer to a real home. More so than any other place had been. Except one, of course.

Lucy had even introduced Aquarius to the guild. It had been... a unique experience, to say the least. For both parties...

...

_"Lucy, you're a celestial wizard, correct?" Mirajane had asked her one day when she had been hanging around the guild. Lucy had cheerfully answered back, "Yes, that's correct."_

_"Oh, what kinda thing can you do with this magic?" Levy jumped to ask, the familiar sparkle forming in her eyes as she learned something new. Lucy laughed as she explained, "Well, it's been described as almost spiritual, an ability to reach into another dimension and call other spirit warriors to help you fight your battles. Provided you have their key, of course."_

" _How does that work?" Macao had asked from the table adjacent to them._

" _Well, I just concentrate and spread my magic into my keys, which then allows them to come into our world. It's straightforward."_

" _Oh, can we meet one of your spirits? I'd love to see a demonstration of such an ability," Levy exclaimed, an assortment of agreement following her request. Lucy herself saw no reason to deny the guild, as the master had been watching and showed no sign of disapproving, and even knew the exact person she wanted them to meet._

_"Very well," the blonde agreed, reaching into her pouch to grab one of her golden keys and putting it in a glass of water nearby, to everyone's surprise. "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!" A golden glow emitted from the key and shone throughout the_ guildhall _. Then suddenly, a woman with blue hair and a blue fish tail appeared in front of them all. Her face was fixed in a dark scowl, and her arms were crossed over a jar settled in her arms._

" _Everyone, this is one of my most trusted spirits, Aquarius," Lucy introduced the group with her signature closed-eye smile as she wrapped her arm around the mermaid's waist in an elaborate hug. "Aquarius, these are my guild mates. From the guild, Fairy Tail."_

" _What did I say about hugging me, brat?" A few members were taken back by the annoyed and harsh way the celestial spirit addressed her mistress, especially Levy and Natsu, who were practically front-row witnesses to the event taking place. But they also noticed that Aquarius made no move to move the girl as she continued to hug her. The mermaid gave a little huff as she turned her head to survey the guild members._

" _So, this is the Fairy Tail guild," she mumbled, her glower getting harder the longer she examined the room. "Wow, they're almost as graceless and uncultured as you. I'm actually impressed." Lucy gave a snort as the other members grumbled, a little surprised to be insulted without tact._

" _Come on, Aquarius. You promised you would try to be nicer to people we live with. Or should I tell a certain someone about this?" Lucy inquired slyly. The audience was shocked to see a furious blush appear on the woman's face as she indignantly answered, "Yeah, yeah. I'll play nice with your stupid play group." Lucy had turned to the group and apologetically explained, "Sorry, meeting new people isn't Aquarius' strong suit. But I assure you, she'll warm up to you soon. Believe me, it was a long while before she could tolerate me."_

" _You say that like I tolerate you at all," Aquarius pointed out, mocking humor in her voice as her hands moved to her hips. And that's when Happy had shown up, a particular sparkle in his eyes._

" _Oh, Lucy, is this a giant fish? Can I have it, please?! It would keep me fed for months!" The mermaid had slowly turned her head to look at the cat, an intimidating shine in her expression._

" _Did this… little imbecile …just compare me… to those disgusting creatures in TANKS?!" And then Aquarius had tried to drown Happy and every member watching._

...

It had happened a week ago, but it was still amusing to Lucy. She had once made that mistake when she was much younger, and Aquarius had been just as unforgiving. It took a lot of pleading and bargaining to get her to calm down. But by then, everyone had needed a change of clothes, since the ones they were currently wearing had gotten wet.

There was a silver lining. Aquarius had later told her, in her own roundabout way, that she saw the appeal the guild had, and though it was good for her to join. Although she had worded it with more insults and annoyances, Lucy would take the approval.

But what she couldn't help but worry about in the back of her head was how long it would be this way. And what would be the result once the grace period was over? At this point, only time would tell. Lucy could only hope that relaxing in Magnolia wouldn't come back to haunt her.

Lucy slowly awoke as she registered the sunlight weighing against her eyes, streaming through one of the windows in her bedroom. She rose up, chasing away any trace of drowsiness as she stretched out her limbs. After having yet another good night's sleep, her mind quickly awoke with enough clarity to focus on the day ahead of her. First things first.

Settling in the little writing desk she'd gotten herself, Lucy began constructing a letter:

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_It's been a few weeks since I've written to you, and I sincerely apologize for the delay. I was just getting used to my time in Magnolia and with Fairy Tail. It's so sweet here, and the guild is even better. Natsu is so fantastic and continues to encourage me to go on dangerous and adrenaline-filling missions with him and his friend, Happy. Nothing too bad, of course, so no need to worry. I have a new spirit named Virgo, who I have yet to make a contract with because she's a bit weak from her abysmal time with Everlue, so she still needs time in the Celestial Spirit World before I can use her. I have made a new friend too, her name is Levy Mcgarden, and she's done her very best to introduce me to the many shops and bookstores in town. She is quite lovely. Concerning the other members of Fairy Tail, I can happily reassure you that they've treated Plue and me splendidly. Plue hasn't really warmed up to them yet, but he hasn't tried to rip out any of their_ jugulars _, so progress!_

Lucy took a moment to think of anything else to write down. After a quick internal debate, she decided to convey a concern she was having.

_Today, I had another dream. I know since I've started repressing that ability that the dreams were to make up for it, but at times it's hard to tell what is just the aimless abstract of any other dream and what's a preview of things to come. Probably because little by little, the power I have slipped out. Today, for example, I heard this horrible sound, and all around me, people were dropping like flies, eyes blank with lifelessness. Life from plants and the air itself have sucked away. And I felt as hot as fire and as cold as ice. Then, a dark creature with three eyes was in front of me, roaring in my face. It worries me when I have dreams like that, Mom and Dad. I can feel my control and seal slipping in general, and I worry if I can... if I will be accepted into the guild once the truth comes out and even if I will survive to get that chance. I can only hope it was a regular nightmare and nothing that will affect my new friends. Concerning my buddies, Loke has joined Fairy Tail with me, and I can just tell we'll all have a perfect time. Until my next letter._

Love,

Your Lucy

After shaking Plue awake and devouring their small breakfast of porridge, the blonde girl and white fox made it to the guild, three hours after their day started. Opening the door and taking in the slightly crowded building with Plue secured in her arms, Lucy made her way to the bar, Mirajane already behind the counter and welcoming her with a smile. Lucy could see Lisanna walking to the back without a single look towards the guild.

"Good Morning, Lucy. It 's nice to see you today."

"You too, Mirajane. It's wonderful to see you as well," Lucy cheerfully replied, setting Plue down on the counter and taking a seat. She was dressed in a black and white sundress with long sleeves, and that was fixed to that similar to a tutu as well as reaching down to below her knees, with a red sash tied in the middle. Her hair was tied up in an elegant bun that showcased her brown eyes splendidly. After a moment to look around, Lucy asked about the third master's whereabouts.

"Oh, Master went to a conference. I'm in charge until he gets back," Mirajane cheerfully informed the curious blonde.

"What sort of conference?"

"It's for guild masters. Once in a blue moon, they get together to talk about the state of things. Like the magic council, but different, I suppose." Lucy nodded in the wake of the simple explanation, temporarily lost in thought as she tried to decide if the master talking would be right or wrong for her. Then she jolted as she felt a rough slap in the back.

"Morning, Lucy!" Natsu yelled happily in greeting. Lucy shot a sweet smile at the pink-haired dragon slayer. "Hello, Natsu and Happy. It's wonderful to see you again."

The two newcomers shot each other a weird look at the slightly odd welcome before Natsu gave a cheerful smile back at her, crossing his arms behind his back as he asked her, "Yeah, sure. Anyway, since you're already here and all, could you go to pick a job for us already?" Lucy was a little confused by that question.

"I'm sorry, Natsu, but I thought that we were only going on the one mission together. Because you needed a blonde to get into the mansion. Not that the plan had worked, but still. I thought my position on this team was out of convenience."

"What are you talking about, Lucy?" the dragon slayer countered thoughtfully. "We didn't ask you to join just because of that! We picked you, and you're weird fuzz ball because you guys seem like nice guys. Geez, you're so weird."

Lucy gave a little laugh at the offhanded insult, while Plue gave a little growl but remained nestled on the counter. Just then, Gray spoke up from a table beside them. "Oy, Lucy. There are plenty of teams who would love to have you, I'm sure you could find a better offer than the Flame-head and his little blue sidekick," the ice wizard said confidently.

"Shut it, you jerk!" Natsu flung back. There a tense moment when the two glared at each other from afar. Then they suddenly launched themselves at each other, their foreheads grinding together and the electricity of their heated staring match causing much static tension in the guild hall as they traded insults. Lucy, long used to the massive brawls and verbal fights, could only give a little laugh at the absurdity of the guild. They were all so uniquely connected in a dysfunctional way; it was too funny!

Then, just as another entertaining fight was underway, some brown-haired man burst through the door, looking as though the devil was after him. "I've got bad news, guys. ERZA'S ON HER WAY!" Then the whole guild went crazy, every single member panicking and scrambling to fix the place up and appear perfect.

Lucy watched with blatant surprise as the reaction to this Erza's arrival. "Wow, is this Erza a demon or something?" the blonde asked the white-haired barmaid. Mirajane gave a small laugh as she cheerfully answered, "Oh, no. She's just our strongest female member and can be a little intimidating at times. You'll see for yourself soon enough."

The sound of leather boots could be heard from just outside the guild. Then a red-haired woman entered the building, dressed in a suit of armor with a blue skirt and carrying a giant horn in her left hand. Lucy gave a quiet gasp as she felt the massive power from the newcomer. She watched as the woman loudly set her enormous possession down before addressing the guild as a whole. "I've returned. Where is master Makarov?"

"Welcome back, Erza. Master went to a conference right now. He probably won't be back for some time."

"I see," Erza answered curtly. One of the members fearfully asked a few moments later, "Uh, Erza. What's that enormous thing you got there?"

"It's the horn of a monster I had defeated. The people of the village were so grateful that they decorated and bestowed it unto me as a souvenir. Do you have a problem with it? Is my gift bothering you?" the scarlet-haired woman questioned, a scary glare appearing on her face as she asked the man.

"No! Of course not! I'm entirely okay with it!" the man shrieked, back away frantically.

Lucy watched in a surprised daze as Erza proceeded to bully and criticize each and every member on their bad habits, failures concerning parts of their mission and the trouble and destruction they tend to cause. Lucy couldn't help but grow more and more annoyed at every word coming from her mouth. If the master saw nothing wrong with the guild members' behavior, what gave this lady the right to boss everyone around like this? Plue gave a slight snarl, his thoughts obviously in sync with her own. The only positive thing that Lucy could note about her was that she at least wasn't smacking people around along with her emotional punches.

After she had finished tearing into the guild, she looked towards the bar and curiously asked, "Are Natsu and Gray here?"

"Yes, they are," Mirajane answered as she pointed them out. The two mages in question were currently hugging each other, sweat visibly running down their bodies and nervous looks on their faces.

"Hey there, Erza. Natsu and I were just hanging out. You know, like real friends do, because that's what we are, of course," Gray said shakily. "Aye!" Natsu squeaked in agreement, looking just as afraid as everyone else. Lucy could feel her eyebrows furrowing as her dislike for this person grew stronger. This Erza had reduced the fire dragon slayer to a scared, phony boy. Anything that could make Natsu, or anyone really, afraid to act like themselves was someone who had no chance at gaining her friendship or respect.

"It's great that you two are finally getting along. However, I wasn't calling you for that. I actually need you two to do me a favor. While I was traveling, I heard of something that has me worried. This a situation of utmost urgency and I would like to deal with it as soon as possible. I would have consulted the Master about it, but seeing as he's not here, I suppose we'll have to deal with it ourselves. You two are the strongest wizards here, and I need your help."

The two wizards took a moment to glance at each other as the guild members around them started whispering to each other. A mission where the great Erza Scarlet needs help? Unheard of. Finally, Natsu stepped forward, determination on his face.

"I'll go with you on this mission, but I've got a couple of conditions," he said, ignoring Gray, who was flailing his arms in disagreement and saying, "Shut up!" in a hushed voice.

"Oh?" Erza answered eyebrows raised as she awaited his requests. "Oh, yeah. First, I want a rematch when we get back from this trip or whatever." The whole guild seemed to fall over in shock at the fire dragon slayer's request. Lucy could only guess that a previous fight between the two had a bad outcome for Natsu. Gray hush-whispered about Natsu having a death wish, which seemed to confirm her theory.

Natsu had a fiercely challenging look on his face, looking completely sure of his victory this time around. Erza bowed her head slightly, a sly smile on her on her face as she looked at Natsu. "I can see you've improved and I am curious about the potential result. Very well, challenge accepted. Do you have the second condition?"

"Sure do!" Lucy was in no way prepared for Natsu to suddenly grab her from the bar and push her in front of Erza. "I want Lucy to come with us," the pink-haired teen announced proudly, a happy grin on his face. Lucy schooled her features to be stoic as she stood face-to-face with the bossy and demanding warrior. The blonde could see the scarlet-haired woman sizing her up, noting her bag, her keys, and her Plue.

"I saw you by Mirajane when I first entered. You must be a new member; my name is Erza Scarlet. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Erza greeted the blonde. Lucy answered back in a neutral voice, "Likewise. I've heard many stories of your strength and power. My name is Lucy Heartfilia. I'm actually a member of Natsu's team."

Erza hummed thoughtfully. "Lucy Heartfilia? I think I've heard of you. A few stories were going around about you defeating a member of a dark guild a while back. I also heard you managed to fend off an army of savage gorillas with just one hand."

Lucy hid her discomfort about such rumors with a slightly forced laugh, ignoring the shocked expressions being sent her way. "Oh, rumors can be quite exaggerated. I just traveled a lot. I didn't really do any actual fighting until I met Natsu, and it was against some common enemies. Nothing too hard for any wizard at Fairy Tail, I'm sure."

Erza gave another hum before she spoke again. "Well then, I see no reason why you shouldn't come with us. We will all meet at the train station in about an hour. Gather all needed supplies and hurry." And then Erza was walking back to the door, never looking back as she took her leave.

There was a long moment of tense silence, almost as though the guild was afraid to break the silence. One by one, the three mages had taken their leave to pack for the job. Just as Lucy was leaving, she heard Mirajane say in a small voice that was steadily getting louder, "Erza, Natsu, Lucy and Gray, all on the same team? This could be the most powerful team in the history of Fairy Tail!"

…

Natsu hadn't really thought that Lucy would have a problem going until he noted how she had acted during her conversation with Erza. Natsu had only wanted to include his new teammate and friend on a super dangerous adventure with him like any good buddy would. However, the typically friendly and open blonde had been somewhat cold and forced, face free of any expression and voice neutral. She had been nothing like the Lucy of the past few weeks.

Since the day she had joined, Lucy had done her best to interact and make friends with everyone. She had even been friendly with Laxus, who was a grade-A jerk on his best day. So to see her close herself off to Erza was a bit worrisome. No one at the guild knew much about Lucy's history, not even Gramps, so it wasn't easy to see what Lucy's reactions mean at times.

And the way she had laughed off the mention of possible fights she had been in? Not her typical happy-go-lucky behavior. She had said she hadn't "actually fought" until he met her. But something about the way she had worded it made it all seem fake and evasive.

Perhaps the blonde was intimidated. Or maybe she was wary of the scarlet warrior. The dragon slayer could only hope this wouldn't turn into a girl fight. Because between Lucy's mysterious powers and Erza's monstrous strength, he honestly wasn't sure who would come on top. The only thing he knew with certainty was that the guild would be turned to ashes, as well as everyone else in it.

…

Lucy had learned at a young age that it was important to conceal any ill will from potential enemies. The better for their guard to be down, and to make stabbing them in the back a lot easier. And it seemed as though she was in that exact situation now.

Okay, she may be exaggerating a little. The blonde honestly didn't sense any evil intention from Erza, and maybe the way she intimidated others wasn't really her fault. However, the way she dictated and tore into the guild members rubbed her the wrong way. It reminded her so much of… _**them**_.

Lucy gave a little shudder as she closed her mind off from such traumatic thoughts, dutifully focusing on tying her hair down and arranging the loose strands so they wouldn't impair her vision. Dwelling on the past would only distract her and put herself in dangerous situations. She had to remain steadfast and focused if this mission was as important as the red-haired girl had stressed. Lucy took a deep breath through her nose, looking at her reflection in the mirror with an exasperated expression on her face.

Part of the celestial wizard recognized that her dislike of Erza came from her past experience with people with similar attitudes. They had wanted drastic changes and had made others pay dearly for slow progress. It had instilled a deep loathing to anyone who wanted people to change who they were. But it was no excuse. Lucy was a part of Fairy Tail now, and from what she had seen, no members of the guild had any malicious purposes and were all full of a proper sense of loyalty and honor. This most likely meant Erza was the same.

So, as a fellow member of the guild, Lucy had a responsibility to look past the traits she disliked, and grow to know and care for the scarlet warrior for who she was. For her own sake as well as the other woman's.

…

When Lucy finally made it to the train station, she could see that everyone had made it there before her. She had taken the time to wear more work-appropriate clothing for the mission, now dressed in a long-sleeved lavender shirt that reached down to her hips, black shorts that stopped a little after her thigh with leggings and black sandals. Her customary brown satchel was resting on her right shoulder, and a pouch with her keys was hooked into her shorts. Her blonde hair was tied back into a low ponytail, and she had a single, black rolling suitcase with a few supplies she was dragging with her right hand. Plue was easily keeping pace with her as they met up with the group.

"Great, everyone's here," Erza commented when she saw Lucy approaching, flashing the blonde a gentle smile that wasn't returned. "Let's get a move on, shall we?" The scarlet woman walked towards the train, dragging her boatload of things behind her.

Soon after, Lucy was on the train, watching as her pink-haired friend moaned and groaned as the train was moving. She was sitting next to Erza; the boys had run ahead to take the seats across from the red-haired woman. Plue was on her lap, twitching his nose in disgust at the dragon slayer. The blonde couldn't help but giggle at Natsu's reaction to transportation. And to think, he had been bouncing up and down since Erza had agreed to fight him.

"My gosh, you get more pathetic as the days go by," Gray said with an annoyed huff. Natsu was too busy trying not to barf on the train to notice any of Gray's insults.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to help him. Natsu, come sit here with me," Erza said casually. Lucy silently switched seats, deciding not to take it personally that the scarlet-haired warrior didn't think to ask her before making a decision on the seats. When she was now sitting next to Gray, she watched as Erza turned in her seat to face Natsu, a serene smile on her face as she threw an arm over his shoulder. "Now just relax."

Lucy gawked at the girl as she socked Natsu in the stomach, successfully knocking him out cold. Was this girl for real?! Although Lucy had to reluctantly admit, it probably made the trip more bearable for Natsu if he was asleep. He wouldn't have to worry about losing his breakfast.

After getting over the shock of Erza punching Natsu to sleep, Gray seriously questioned Erza. "So Erza, I think it's time you explained this mission of yours to us now. What exactly are we doing?"

"Right. You three are coming with me to confront the dark guild, Eisenwald. I have reason to believe that they plan to do something big and horrible with a sealed magical item called Lullaby," the scarlet warrior explained calmly.

"Lullaby?" Lucy questioned suddenly, looking very serious as she shot a look at Plue, who looked just as alert as her. The other three conscious members of the group turned their attention to her. "Yes, that's what I said. Have you heard of it?" Erza asked in return.

"Yes… Lullaby is or was a tool for casting death curses. But once the dark wizard Zeref got to it, it became a demon flute, capable of killing at least hundreds of people. Its sound can force anyone into an eternal sleep with no hope of ever waking up," the blonde explained gravely, a hard look on her face as she gazed out the window in speculation. "I can't imagine any dark guild using such an instrument for good things."

"Yes," Erza slowly agreed, an unreadable expression on her face as she looked at Lucy. "When I had stopped in a pub during my journey, I could hear a group of wizards talking quite loudly. They mentioned Erigor, a particularly infamous member of the Eisenwald guild. He's the ace of the guild and only accepts missions that require assassination. From what I overheard, a wizard named Kage was looking to retrieve Lullaby for Eisenwald and bring it back with him in three days. One of the reasons I wanted us to move quickly."

"So to recap," Gray said, "A dark guild is looking for a dark and powerful item, and you want to put a stop to them before they could go through with whatever horrible thing they have planned."

"Of course. I wanted your help because I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to take on a whole dark guild by myself." Erza then turned to face Lucy, " Lucy, how did you know what Lullaby was? Generally, knowledge on demons and other things like that aren't publicly known."

Here Lucy looked down, a sad frown on her face as she replied, "I had my own experience with demons. And… someone I knew before had told me all about demons. He was… A good friend, and wanted me prepared should I ever run into one." The blonde's arms moved to wrap around her white fox, seeming lost in a wave of melancholy memories.

"I see…" Erza said. There was a moment of silence. Gray wasn't sure what to make of the blonde. At first glance, she seemed so happy and unworrying. It never occurred to him that it might have taken some time for her to get that way.

Lucy, refusing to let her past cause tension now, turned back to Erza with an inquiry on her lips. "Erza, I was wondering, what kind of magic do you use?"

"That's an excellent question, Lucy," Erza replied, digging into a cake she had brought out of one of her many bags.

Happy gleefully jumped in to answer. "Erza's magic is great! She always leaves her opponents a bruised and bloody mess!" Lucy couldn't help but laugh at Happy's misplaced excitement. The blue cat tended to laugh at things he shouldn't.

"Honestly I think Gray's magic is much more elegant than mine," Erza said with a sweet smile, Gray moving to showcase his ability as he was suddenly placed in the spotlight. "Oh, like this?" the dark blue-haired teen said, placing a closed fist over his other hand, making a cool mist appear, and then moving his hand to show a piece of ice in the shape of the Fairy Tail emblem. It floated away from him as he explained, "I use Ice magic."

"Oh, that is pretty," the blonde exclaimed, "is this why you and Natsu are always fighting? Because you are opposing elements, you're ice, and he's fire?"

"Wow, I never thought of that," Erza commented.

"Nah, I just hate his guts." Gray inserted casually, dismissing the conversation as the train made its way to their station.

…

The three mages made their way off the train, Happy on Lucy's head and Plue in the blonde's left arm. As they made their way from Onibas Station, they were still discussing their current job. Gray had asked, "Are you even sure those Eisenwald jerks are still here?"

"No, I'm honestly not sure. But we have to start somewhere, so we should at least find out whether or not they're still residing in this town," Erza answered gently. Just as they were about to leave the area, Happy suddenly inquired in a confused stupor, "Hey, where's Natsu?"

Lucy, Erza, and Gray immediately stopped, looking amongst their things and around them, before looking back at the train, which was steadily leaving the station for its next designation. "Well, there he goes," Happy said, not sounding the least bit worried about their present predicament, and joyfully waving at the long-departed train.

"Oh, no," Erza moaned, looking deeply frustrated with herself. "I was so busy lamenting about our mission, I forgot about him! I'm such a fool! How could I have forgotten about Natsu's aversion to transportation? One of you must hit me for my penance."

Lucy couldn't help but shoot the girl an odd look. Erza seemed to have forgotten that they were all guilty of forgetting about Natsu and that mistakes like this weren't really that big deal. However, since she was literally asking for it… Lucy set Plue down on her suitcase and moved forward, throwing her fist back and bashing it into the scarlet warrior's face, causing her face to tilt back slightly from the force of the hit. There was a moment where it seemed as though the very train station grew deafeningly silent, and then Happy and Gray were releasing shrill screams, looking at her as though she had just signed her death warrant.

The blonde didn't understand the problem: Erza looked a little too happy to be hit, and she was now looking less pained and more productive as she said evenly, "Thank you very much, Lucy. I'm going to go stop the train and then get us a magical car so we can pick up Natsu. Please wait here while I proceed to do so."

"Okay," Lucy answered, smiling a little at Erza's antics. She could now see the silliness and crazy that was a perfect match to Fairy Tail's general demeanor, and as a result was starting to warm up to the other girl. Perhaps she wasn't such a bossy and harsh person after all.

As the red-haired girl was walking away, Gray who had somehow lost his jacket, shirt, and pants in the midst of his screaming, openly stared at her as he breathlessly commented to her, "You know, Lucy… You're a lot braver than I took you for. I don't think anyone else would have the guts to hit Erza."

Lucy shot a puzzled look at Gray as she went to pick up Plue again. "I don't understand. She asked us to do it, and I was pulling my punches, so it shouldn't have caused too much damage to her face." There was a moment when Gray opened his mouth to reply, but then he closed it again, just looking really astounded.

…

Soon they were all riding on the magic mobile, pursuing the train that had stopped little ways from the station. Within minutes, they caught up, just as it was steadily moving again. Just as they were about to jump on, the dragon slayer flew out the window, yelling as he flew directly into Gray, the two bashing their foreheads as they fell off the car.

Erza quickly slammed on the brakes, and the two girls made their way to their fallen comrades. Natsu got up first, rubbing his head as he loudly complained about his head hurting. Gray got up soon after, yelling about how stupid Natsu was.

"How come you guys left me on the train?" the pink-haired boy groaned with a whining voice. Erza spoke up, "I apologize Natsu. I was too focused on the mission to remain aware of your state. I am so thrilled that you're okay." Then the scarlet warrior proceeded to slam Natsu's head into her metal-clad chest for a hug, oblivious to the fact that it was probably painful. As Natsu dazedly said he was okay and then went on to explain that it was a member of Eisenwald who had attacked him and the strange-looking flute, Erza grew angry again, this time at the dragon slayer.

"You fool!" she screamed after slapping Natsu quite soundly. "That's who we were looking for for this job. How could you let him get away?!"

"But this is the first time I'm hearing about the mission," Natsu countered, completely flabbergasted about the turn of events. Erza angrily said, "I had explained everything we were here to do on the train. Make sure you pay attention next time."

"Uh, Erza," Lucy interrupted, ignoring Gray's gestures to stop as she addressed the female mage, a little of her initial irritation creeping back at the red-haired girl's treatment of the dragon slayer when it wasn't his fault. "Perhaps you forgot, but you knocked Natsu out on the train. He was sound asleep when you explained Lullaby and Eisenwald."

The scarlet warrior visibly froze before she dropped to her knees again. "Once again, I'm a fool! Please, I deserve another strike to be forgiven." Just as Lucy stepped forward to once again punch the girl, Gray got in her way, sweat-dropping as he thundered, " You know, we should get moving. Those Eisenwald guys won't wait around forever." Then the ice wizard quickly dragged the blonde back to the vehicle.

…

After traveling through a few towns, the group finally made it to Oshibana station. Lucy and Gray could only watch in pure astonishment as Erza proceeded to interrogate, then knock out the station guards on duty. Natsu was too out of it from the car ride to notice, hanging from Lucy's shoulder as he recovered. "Erza certainly has her own way of getting things done," Gray said with amusement coloring his voice, stripped down to his underwear once again.

"A small troop from the army unit had stormed in earlier, but they haven't returned yet. The Eisenwald guild is inside the train station. Let's go take them down," Erza commanded. Lucy and Gray nodded in agreement, Lucy quickly dragging Natsu as she moved with the other two. Happy was flying above them, and Plue was nestled inside her bag, one of the few things she refused to leave behind.

As they moved throughout the building, they could see numerous people from the army unconscious and defeated. Eventually, they found the room where members of the Eisenwald guild were waiting for them, all brandishing cocky smirks and casual battle stances. One particular man was on the train, sitting comfortably while holding a giant scythe on his shoulder. Lucy could sense much power emitting from him, making her deduce that he must be Erigor.

"Welcome flies, so glad you could step into our parlor!" the man Erigor said, a crazed look on his face while the men below him sneered and jeered at them.

Erza didn't seem the least bit deterred by the large numbers. Lucy could feel her magical power rising as she stood her ground to the threatening party. "We're not scared by your guild, Erigor! Now, tell us what you plan to do with the demon flute, Lullaby! Why take over the train station?"

"Oh, you haven't figured it out yet?" Erigor questioned, a manic smile on his face as he jumped into the air and flew on top of a loudspeaker. "What do all train stations have, Fairy Tail flies?"

"You would broadcast Lullaby's song? That would kill hundreds of innocents!" Erza yelled in rage. Erigor gave a cackle as he replied, "Those people are asking for it. Right now, they're outside, noisily hoping to catch a glimpse of what's happening in here. They, and perhaps the whole town, will be sentenced to forever slumber by my melody of death."

"What possible reason would you have to justify such a horrid and merciless act?!" Erza roared.

"It's a cleansing, fly, of those who don't appreciate the rights they have, while those whose rights had been stripped away and suffer because of it are ignored. It's punishment for all those who turn a blind eye to the injustice of the world. The reaper will make them suffer dearly for this sin," Erigor stated darkly.

Lucy, who had set Natsu and her bag down, turned to look back at the monologuing wizard, a look of dark anger in her face and voice cold. "How is killing all those people going to change anything? No matter what you do as retribution for crimes committed against you, you won't get back an iota of what you had previously lost. The world doesn't work that way, unfortunately, so this mission of yours is not only pointless but selfish and even evil." The other members of her team stared in shock at the harshly passionate attitude the blonde was taking about the subject at hand.

"Like any fly of Fairy Tail would know of the suffering we've been through. Anyway, we don't care much for our rights anymore; what we desire now is power. With it, the past can be forgotten because we will make sure the future is just and fair, seeing as we'll be in control."

Erigor began levitating as he spoke again. "I wouldn't expect happy little insects like you to understand. It doesn't matter at this point. We'll have revenge against those who had wronged us soon enough. Unfortunately, I have a previous engagement with the people in this town and Lullaby, so I can't deal with you myself. My men, however, would actually love to make you fools suffer." The wind mage laughed, disappearing from sight.

Erza spoke up immediately after his departure. "Natsu and Gray, I need you to go after Erigor. I'm leaving the matter of stopping Lullaby's song from playing in your hands." There was a moment when the mages in question just stood there glaring at each other. "Didn't you hear me?!" Erza yelled, giving a furious glare herself. The two men shouted, "Aye!" and sped away.

Erza turned to address the blonde. "Lucy, we'll be dealing with these people. We will go help Natsu and Gray afterward."

"Understood, Erza," Lucy agreed, getting into a fighting stance with a seldom look in her eyes. Then she started to glow, obscuring her from everyone's view. When she could be seen again, Lucy was in a black dress with long fishnet sleeves and a skirt that was basically a strip that showed off part of her legs, which adorned black short shorts. There were horns with black ribbons in her hair, which was now two thick braids, and she wore black shades that thinly veiled her eyes. To finish off the look, she was dressed with a black chain choker around her neck and covered in leather thigh-high boots.

The men laughed at the claim that the two girls would be able to take them down. "Can't say you girls will look as delicious as you do now when we're finished," one of them warned gleefully, cracking his knuckles.

Lucy noted that Erza, who had somehow summoned a sword into her hand, was looking at her transformation with massive surprise on her face before she dutifully turned back to face their enemies. A handful of men launch themselves at Erza with their own swords in hand. However, the scarlet warrior swiped them away with ease, moving forward to take down some more of their foes.

Lucy moved forward as well, putting the strength and combat knowledge of Capricorn to use, quickly punching and kicking mages, dodging the opponents that tried to cast harmful spells and generally acting as support for Erza. As a few men tried to corner and attack her, Lucy quickly back flipped away, jumping about three feet into the air and evading their futile swings, dispatching them with a few well-placed punches once she had hit the ground again. Eventually, about a dozen men attempted to blast her and Erza, but they moved out of range. Erza then summoned a spear and used it to take half the wizards down, while Lucy easily tackled the other half.

Then Erza made two small swords appear out of thin air and took down another group of men. Lucy could distinctly hear people conversing about Erza's requiping abilities being fast. So, Erza can requip? Similar to her own Star Dressing skills, except the red-haired girl had more flexibility and options. The blonde only had what her spirits could give her. Especially since she blocked…

Lucy shook her head and turned her attention back to the fight. She lifted her right leg up to her face, then stomped it back down, sending a wave of vibrations along the floor and sending a plethora of men to the floor. She moved fast to kick and strike the men who had been unbalanced by her attack.

Lucy turned to see if Erza needed assistance and watched in awe as the woman began to glow, her natural armor replaced by a silver angel costume with two twin blades in her hand. The blonde observed as the red-haired lady made blades appear in a circle around her and strike the remainder of her opponents.

"I've never seen an ability like that…" Lucy commented softly as she watched Erza summon more swords to fight. Happy quickly spoke up. "Oh, yeah. Erza isn't like other magic swordsmen. She doesn't only change her weapons, but she can also swap her armor for another that enhances her wizarding abilities. It's one of the reasons why she's so special and vigorous. This one is called 'The Knight.'"

The celestial wizard stared in appreciation as Erza managed to take down every last one of the men still standing. So this Erza… She was fearsome and quite powerful, with her own unique ability. It was understandable why Mirajane considered her the strongest female in Fairy Tail. She herself would be hard-pressed to beat her. It wouldn't be impossible if she gave it her all, but it would still be difficult for her to beat this red-haired warrior.

Putting her strategic musing to the side for the moment, Lucy dropped her transformation and grabbed her bag, happy to see Plue had been asleep for most of the fight. She could imagine her furry friend wouldn't be too glad about how precise and hard she was on her enemies. The blonde supposed the remarks about Fairy Tail and the illogical reasoning for going after innocents to settle a score had made her angrier than she had originally thought.

Erza was tying up the mages when Lucy and Happy walked up to her, sending her a warm smile as she said, "Great job Lucy. Your skills were quite impressive. I can see now why Natsu was so set on taking you with us. You're an excellent addition to Fairy Tail."

A warm smile appeared on the blonde's face in the front of the warrior's compliments. "Thank you, Erza. It's an honor to hear such high praises from a well-respected member of Fairy Tail."

Erza gave a sigh and turn to look at a passageway one of the fat men had escaped to when Erza had changed outfits. "Unfortunately, one of the men had escaped while we were battling his comrades. Most likely looking for Erigor. I would like you to follow him if you please."

"Sure. Come on, Happy." Lucy called, steadily marching down the hallway, the blue cat following her with a loud "Aye!"

…

Natsu was so angry right now, he was actually shaking. This whole mission had gone from bad to worse. Not only had he been attacked by the same jerk that had ambushed him on the train, but the guy had revealed that the people of the town weren't even Erigor's target. It was Gramps and all the other guild masters currently residing in Clover. This whole train station battle had just been a distraction and a way to trap the four of them inside so that no one could warn the masters or stop Erigor.

After Kage had explained all that, Erza and the Ice Breath had shown up, telling that the shadow user was the only one left that could break the wind barrier and let them get to their master. Then, just as Erza had bullied him to do what they needed, his own guild mate had pushed his hand through his chest, almost killing him. The dragon slayer couldn't believe that had happened. The dark guild may be horrible people, they were still a guild. How could they not care about each other? How could they ever consider killing each other just so their mission to kill the guild master was ensured?

So, when the dark guild member had escaped, and Lucy and Happy had shown up, the five of them had tried to come up with a solution. Natsu had perked up when he remembered that Lucy had healing abilities, but Lucy had shot the idea down with a sad look on her face.

"My magic takes time to actually heal, Natsu. And considering Kage's injuries, it could take hours before he's fit to get up or even use magic, depending on how my power reacts to him or generally the person's will. By the time he does heal, we may be too late to stop Erigor." The blonde had still healed the shadow mage, but the mage in question was still unconscious and useless at the moment. So the pink-haired boy had taken it upon himself to break the barrier they were trapped in.

He gave another yell as he slammed his body into the barrier yet again. Natsu had tried his fire dragon roar and wing attack multiple times before moving on physically smashing into the wind barrier to dispel it. Despite the many times he was sent flying backward and getting an assortment of scratches on his arms from touching the cutting air, he refused to stop trying. They had to save Gramps and the other masters!

"Damn it, damn it! We got to get out of here. Gramps needs us!" Natsu yelled, ready to jump back at the barrier and try to break it once again. However, just as he prepared to run towards it again, he was grabbed from behind the back by soft, but steady arms and felt someone pressing themselves against his back, effectively stopping him in his tracks.

"Natsu," the gentle but firm voice of Lucy Heartfilia said soothingly, "you're going to kill yourself if you continue. I understand that we need to get out of here as soon as possible, but your continued attack on the barrier won't break it." The dragon slayer turned back to see sad brown eyes staring back at him. "We need to think of another plan." The blonde commanded, turning to face Gray, who was nodding thoughtfully to the blonde's reasoning. As she turned, Natsu noticed the shine of her golden keys as they moved within his vision. And then the dragon slayer had an idea.

"Lucy!" the celestial wizard blinked in shock as the dragon slayer suddenly grabbed her shoulders to face her towards him. A big teeth-filled smile was on the pink-haired boy's face as he excitedly explained, "You could get us out of here. You could use that pink-haired spirit, Virget or whatever, to make a tunnel out of here. It's perfect."

The smile disappeared when the blonde shot him a sad frown. "I can't use Virgo, Natsu. Everlue was very cruel to her, majorly forcing her to stay in the human world, which is quite harmful to any celestial spirit. I haven't even made a contract with her because I'm giving her time to heal. She still needs about a day or two before she's well enough." Natsu's head fell forward, panic and defeat starting to settle within them. Was this it? Were Gramps and the other guild masters surely dead now.

"However…" Natsu's head snapped back up as Lucy spoke again, slightly perplexed at the masked look on her face. "There is something else I could do. Something that would get us out of here."

"What is it?" Gray questioned.

"I could teleport us out of the barrier and onto the other side," Lucy answered.

"Wait. If you have such an ability, why did you wait until now to bring it up?" Erza questioned from her position by the fallen Kage. Lucy flatly countered, "Because, if I were to do this incorrectly, I could die."

That shut everyone up real quick. "What?!" Natsu croaked, looking at the blonde in complete shock. She only shrugged back at him. "Or go into a coma for some time. It depends really. That's what happened the first time I ever used it, at least."

There was a moment when the other three wizards shared a look before Erza walked forward, grim determination on her face. "Do you think you could teleport us without having such an effect on yourself right now?"

Lucy bit her lips as she contemplated the inquiry. "I suppose. Like I said, I haven't tried it again after that first time. My spirits have advised me to never attempt it again, even though I did succeed. It could be dangerous to myself, but… Also not."

"Come on, Lucy. We're the only hope of the guild masters. You have to try." Natsu pleaded, looking imploringly at the celestial mage. Lucy stared at the dragon slayer for a few long moments before she nodded, a resolved look on her face. "Very well, Natsu, I'll do it."

Then the blonde instructed them to grab hands and stand in a circle, making sure they had everything they needed, and Natsu carrying Kage on his shoulders. After that, the other mages watched as Lucy closed her eyes and breathed deeply, looking to be in a meditative state. Then she began to glow like the sun, the light filling the room and causing the others to close their eyes too. Then they felt the floor disappear from under them and harsh winds around them. Natsu, Gray, and Erza looked down to see they were a little high off the ground and steadily falling. They quickly separated so they could concentrate on landing on their feet. Just as they turned to praise the blonde, they watched in horror as she fell to the ground.

"Lucy!" They moved to her, checking her pulse. She was breathing, but she was also unresponsive. The warning she gave them about possibly falling into a coma was severely worrying the other mages.

"Do you think she's okay, Erza?" Gray questioned as he looked at the unconscious blonde. Erza sighed after a few moments of staring at the celestial wizard. "She's still breathing. We'll take her with us, but we can't let us be slowed down by this. We have to catch up to Erigor and save the guild masters." Grabbing Lucy from the ground, she lifted her over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes. "Let's go."

On the floor, Kage sneered tiredly, "It doesn't matter that you escaped the barrier, there's still no way you can stop Erigor now. He's long gone. We've won."

Just then the scarlet warrior noticed the dragon slayer's absence. "Where's Natsu and Happy?"

…

As the blue cat moved to catch up with Erigor, Natsu fumed behind him, ready to kick the evil idiot into next week. Not only had he put innocent lives at stake and moved to kill the guild masters, but he had also put Lucy in a position where she could get hurt.

Yet despite that, Lucy had still tried. She'd gotten them away from the barrier, and now, he refused to let the blonde celestial wizard's sacrifice be in vain. He was going to burn that Erigor to a crisp and crush that death flute with a flaming fist if it was the last thing he did.

…

When Lucy had finally regained consciousness, she saw a worried Plue, a bemused Happy and a calm Makarov hovering above her. She could feel green stone under fingers and could distinctly hear fighting happening around her. She slowly got up, putting her hand against her temple to soothe the gradually lessening pounding.

"Ah, Lucy. Glad you're awake again. I'm sure Natsu, Erza, and Gray would appreciate your assistance if you're up to it." The master commented calmly, turning to look at something behind her. Lucy turned to see a giant wooden creature as tall as a building stood over them all. Lullaby, the blonde thought to herself as she noticed that it was swatting around its body, a closing glancing telling her she was trying to fend off her team.

"I see you're awake now, Miss Lucy." Lucy turned to see her spirit Capricorn standing behind Makarov, looking up at the unsealed demon with his characteristic blank expression behind his sunglasses. Behind the goat spirit, the celestial wizard noted the guild masters loitering around. "Dealing with demons again, I see."

"Hello, Capricorn." the blonde greeted, getting to her feet and facing the demon with a fierce expression though her voice remained calm as she addressed the goat spirit. "I suppose you were checking if I was alright?"

"Of course, my lady. Especially when you insist on taking perilous risks. Aquarius and Loke were quite worried when they felt how depleted your magic was. I was here to talk you out of any battling so you could recover, but I suppose that would be a waste of breath."

"Of course," Lucy mimicked the spirit, turning her head back sideways to shoot the spirit a grin before turning back to face the demon, glowing sea blue and changing her clothes. Soon, she was once again dressed in a green and yellow bikini with ruffled sleeves and skirt along with the same colored sandals, her hair now tied up in pigtails. "And considering it's a demon, I'll have to use one of _**those**_ attacks again."

"Miss Lucy, are you quite sure?" Capricorn questioned, a hint of worry in his voice.

"No," Lucy answered blatantly, pushing her hands together and starting to glow a golden color again. "But I really don't have a choice right now. I think I'll need help with this too, seeing as it would take too much out of me to use more magic than this."

"Whatever you need, my lady." the goat spirit promised as a longsword appeared in her hands. Gripping the hilt of the sword, Lucy pointed the point at the demon, a dark and determined look on her face as pulled the magic of both Aquarius and Capricorn into the sword, the blade turning a muted blue as the magic settled within it, the smell of sea and mountains filling the air around her. Moving to the edge of the cliff and bracing her feet directly behind the Lullaby demon, the celestial wizard held her sword up, concentrating and glowing muted blue as well, her hair moving like a heavy wind was blowing it.

As she was charging up power, the Lullaby demon turned to her, apparently sensing the magic she gathering and turning to attack her while she was distracted. Before the demon could, however, Lucy opened her eyes, yelling, "Unison Raid! Slamming Water Strike!" She jumped up high, raising her sword up and slashing it down in front of her, sending a blue-colored blast towards Lullaby. It hit the monster in the chest. For a few moments, nothing happened, and the demon began to laugh at the feeble attack. Then, water burst out of several spots in its body. It pierced parts of the demon's arms and legs, as well as the chest before ultimately striking its neck. With a final cry of defeat, the beast fell, its head and body crudely separating and fell to the ground.

Lucy fell to her knees, gasping loudly as her clothes morphed back to her original outfit and the sword disappeared. "Lucy!" Happy cried worriedly, looking scared along with Plue. Makarov was watching the blonde with a horrified look on his face. "This is worse than I thought. The four of them actually _**could**_ destroy a whole town for sure with that kind of power."

"Well… that's going hurt in the morning." Lucy joked tiredly. "Miss Lucy, this is serious. You know what happens when-" Capricorn scolded sternly before he was interrupted by a smiling Lucy, who was wobbling to her feet. "Oh, come on Capricorn. It was for a good cause. Besides, you probably used more magic energy than I did."

The goat gave a deep sigh at that. "Indeed. I would like to continue to lecture you about how foolish you were just now, but unfortunately, I must return to the celestial spirit world to recover."

Lucy giggled. "Well, there's always next time. Bye, Capricorn." Then the goat celestial spirit disappeared with a golden glow. Lucy then moved to stand by the master, just as Natsu, Gray, and Erza were coming back from the air.

"Whoa, Lucy. What the heck was that? It was awesome!" Natsu declared, not looking the least bit winded from his fight with the Lullaby demon. Lucy couldn't help but give a little laugh. The dragon slayer never seemed to let anything get him down. "That was Capricorn and me doing a Unison Raid. I used both Aquarius' water and Capricorn's ability to find the weak points in his opponents to launch an attack that was sure to take down Lullaby. And it worked." The blonde explained cheerfully.

Gray quietly asked, "You okay, Lucy? The way you fell down after getting us past the barrier, we're surprised you're even up right now." The celestial wizard smiled at the ice mage's concern. "Oh, nothing that sleep can't fix. Besides, it was worth it to save the guild masters."

Makarov gave a quiet laugh at that. "Well done, all of you." Then they saw that the four wizards had managed to destroy the conference hall, as well as a couple of mountains and multiple sections of forest. The way the master had looked at the damage had been comically shocked out of reality.

Natsu had made sure to grab Lucy's hand as they were once again chased down by the angry guild masters and military officials who were yelling and screaming complaints at them. "We really made a mess of the place, huh Lucy?" Natsu laughed as he dragged Lucy behind him, who had made sure to grab Plue and Happy with her other hand. "Looks like we'll be running a lot in the future now that we're all a team."

Lucy couldn't stop from snickering with the dragon slayer as the seven of them ran away from yet another angry mob. There certainly was never a dull moment in Fairy Tail, was there? But Lucy Heartfilia wouldn't have it any other way.

…

"Master." Makarov turned to look at the female requip mage, who was staring ahead with a grave expression on her face. Throughout the team's walk back to Magnolia, after they had finally outrun the crowd after them, Natsu and the other four had been upfront, the fire and ice mage going back and forth while Happy cheered them on, and the blonde mage giggling at the action and petting the white fox in her arms.

Erza and himself had remained in the back, walking in comfortable silence up until now. "Yes, dear Erza?" The third master had replied, awaiting whatever question the red-haired girl had. Although considering she had her gaze locked on the blonde, he could already guess what was sobering the scarlet warrior.

"I've heard rumors about a Lucy Heartfilia. She was said to have gone toe-to-toe with the Angel of the Oración Seis. I've also see some of her abilities first-hand as well hints to a questionable and harsh life style. How exactly did she become a part of the guild?"

Makarov took a breath before he answered, "The magic council had asked a select few of trust guild masters to find her. I sent Natsu to find her in Hargeon."

Erza nodded thoughtfully, a thin-lipped frown on her face. Makarov studied the scarlet mage's expression carefully. "Do you not think she can be trusted? She has already made fast friends with basically everyone in the guild. No one but my grandson really complains about her, and well… my grandson doesn't like a lot of things."

"It's just… we don't know a lot about her. She has a kind of magic I haven't seen before and that last attack against Lullaby… I just not sure if she can be trusted, especially if she already has experience in dark guilds. If she were to turn against Fairy Tail…"

The deep chuckle of the third master cut off the requip mage's musing. "Now that, I believe we won't have to worry about that. We had a discussion when she first joined, and I can assure you that she is every bit a loyal member of Fairy Tail as you are." Makarov could see that the red-haired girl was still troubled. "However, if you still need some reassurance, you can watch her for a little while. Observe how she spends her days and time at the guild. If there's even a hint of malicious intentions, we'll deal with it. But you shouldn't judge her because she might be a danger to the guild. After all, there's more than one member of our guild who fits that description."

Erza gave a short nod, gaze never straying from the blonde's back. "Yes, master. I understand."

…

Lucy knew it this was coming. She had gone through it multiple times and had done her best to restrain herself so that it wouldn't happen again. Using those powers and abilities were dangerous, especially when she had made sure to separate them from her. The fallout of using such greatness when you did your best to rid yourself of it was the equivalent of jumping into the water and not coming up despite how much your lungs scream for air, or how much your body freezing over. No matter what agony you go through before the sweet release of death befalls you.

In the celestial wizard's case, there is no relief. You only continue to go through the pain and agony, knowing that you caused it by staying below the water. Yet, no matter how many times she's felt it, she couldn't stop herself from taking that dive again. The blonde had known that she would feel the backlash that night, not in the morning. However, she also knew if she had notified her spirits of that, they would have insisted on _**that**_ remedy again. Like they had numerous times before.

It was after everyone had laid down to rest that she felt it building up inside her. The blonde had quickly moved away from the group, by a stream a few bushes over where she had fallen to her knees and felt the consequences of that unused power. The result of squeezing out that that was restrained.

Lucy coughed loudly, blood pouring from her mouth into a large puddle in front of her as she felt her heart literally jerk in her chest. When she finally stopped spitting blood, she turned onto her back to look up at the stars, feeling the pain resonating throughout her body, feeling as though her skin was being peeled away from her body with a knife. She panted harshly, her vision blurring as she felt her body fight to remain functional. This episode was particularly bad, made worse by using her teleportation and the unison raid in a single day. Had she not pushed herself to such extremes today, it would have been better. Less painful, at least.

But the mission had been much riskier than she had thought. Demons and dark guilds, both things from her past she'd rather not remember. Lucy absently placed her hand over her heart, and she focused on clearing her mind and waiting for her healing abilities to activate. It wasn't long before she was bright silver, sighing in relief as the pressing pain dispersed. Sitting up, the celestial mage moved her clenched fist over her mouth to remove any blood caught in her lips.

"All better now, Angel?" Lucy took a deep breath through the nose as she heard the telltale voice of her lion spirit. She turned to face Loke, whose glasses were framed so that the moonlight glare would hide his eyes.

"How did you know?" Lucy asked curiously, despite already guessing the answer. "Oh come on now, Angel. I think we all know by now when you say that you'll feel it later, you mean a lot sooner. You're lucky I managed to convince Aquarius that she didn't need to scream at you again."

The blonde sighed before getting to her feet, already knowing what was coming. "Loke, don't. Please."

"How can you keep saying that, Lucy? The more you do this, the more it'll hurt you. Eventually, your body's gonna quit and then where will you be?" Loke demanded, lifting his eyes, his angry glare was now showing.

"You know why I can't, Loke," Lucy said, a slight plea in her voice.

"I know why you won't. You may think resisting is making up for what happened -what you've done- but it's just killing you. You can't keep down what's a part of you."

"I can try."Lucy countered in a hard voice, eyes looking up at the moon. Loke sighed before he said, "Please, Lucy. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for us. It scares us when this happens, and we really worry about what will happen when it gets too much for you. Please."

Lucy turned to look at Loke, a remorseful look on her face. "Do I really worry you all that much?"

"Of course, Angel. You know how we feel about you. How I feel about you."

Lucy continued to stare at the celestial lion spirit, a contemplating look on her face. "I'll think about it, Loke. Really, I will. But… I don't know if my final answer will be the one you want."

Loke gave a genuine smile, placing a steady hand on the blonde celestial wizard's shoulder. "That's alright, Angel. All we ask is that you do think about it. You really worry us when you take risks like that."

"What can I say," Lucy shrugged, glancing up at the moon with a sad frown on her face. "It's how I was raised."


	6. The Battle of Fire and Sword, with a Side of Council Deception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As you've probably noticed by now, most of the titles speak for themselves, so just read them to get what the chapter is about. Also, the beginning is based off of Weiss's intense training and the little bit Lucy says about intruding friends I got from the thing the parents of Fairy Oddparents said before bursting into their kids' rooms. Happy reading.

_It was a beautiful night, the stars and moon shining eerily from above. Taking a deep breath, Lucy turned around to face the dark-blue glass field, clutching her rapier securely in her hand as she walked determinedly forward. She pays no heed to the brisk wind blowing against her blonde hair as she continued walking until she was at the center of the field. Closing her eyes to steady herself, the minute she heard the tell-tale sound of her opponents appearing, her eyes snapped open, a fierce fire in her gaze._

_She was dressed in a black and white, long-sleeved dress with heeled sandals of the same color. Her hair was down, framed around her shoulders, a mark of double blades on her right palm._

_Turning as she heard something come towards her, she turned to see a shadowy beast headed towards her. Moving quickly, the blonde thrust her arm forward, her sword piercing its head and disbursing the creature. In her peripheral vision, she could see two more pacing to her left. Just as another pounced on her, she quickly backflipped away, rushing forward to behead the first and then the second monster._

_Even as the creatures were defeated, she could still hear more forming around her. Dodging as one swiped at her with massive claws, Lucy jumped up on one's head, soaring high over them to land over by the edge of the field. Closing her eyes in concentration, the rapier glowed blue all of a sudden. Making a broad swipe at the attackers, a blue blast was flung at the creatures, effectively destroying a large number._

_Never letting her guard down, the celestial wizard's eyes narrowed as she watched more creatures form around her, all hostile and ready to attack her. Holding her sword at the side of her head, Lucy moved forward slashing as many monsters as she could while also gracefully dodging and jumping over them. When she saw them attempt to corner her, she lifted her sword and smashed it into the ground, a massive tremor created and taking out the other shadow monsters._

_Panting slightly, Lucy stood up and waited for the next attack. This fight was almost too easy, and she was right. Suddenly, she felt something smash into her, throwing her back onto her face and knocking her sword away. Getting up and quickly running for it, Lucy was hit back again until she was pushed to the center, far away from her rapier._

_Looking for a way out and finding none, the blonde got into a weak fighting stance, looking anxiously around as she waited for one of the creatures to lung at her. Soon, one knocked her down, screaming in her face. Moving her hands up to keep its teeth away from her, Lucy tried desperately to focus and use her magic against it. But she couldn't._

_Seeing more shadow creature hurtling towards her and knowing more was to come, just as they moved to kill her, Lucy screamed out, "Stop!"_

_Just like that, they all disappearing, leaving Lucy alone on the glass field. Moving to her knees and keeping her head bowed, the blonde fought hard not to flinch as she heard hard and slow steps walked and stop in front of her._

_"_ _Pathetic." A rough, male voice commented, the harsh sound of her rapier hitting the floor keeping the celestial wizard in her tense and slightly submissive stance. "Do you think we're playing here? This mission is life or death, and if you continue to be weak like this, you're going to be killed. It's everyone for themselves as far as this objective is concerned, and no one will be there to save you if you insist on remaining helpless and worth nothing."_

_"_ _Yes, sir." Came Lucy's soft voice, facing the floor in clear defeat. "I'll do better."_

_"_ _You'd better." The man's voice turned ominous as he slowly walked away. "Next time, we go until you're actually bleeding. Not a moment sooner. We can't afford anymore disappoints. Remember, any person I deem a liability… will be cut off."_

_Lucy held her breath until she couldn't hear him anymore, then she sighed deeply, shagging lower to the ground as shame filled her stomach. Ignoring the eyes she knew were watching her, the blonde stayed in her position, not relaxing her back until the spectator had finally left._

**…**

"Mistress! Mistress!" The masked grunted made his way into his leader's sacred sanctuary, kneeling all the way to the ground as he calmly said, "Mistress, we found the girl. We thought she was dead, but we've just heard the news that she's alive."

In front of him, hidden mostly in the shadows and standing in front of a window overlooking the city, a tall figure stood. "I assume you are referring to Miss Lucy Heartfilia?"

"Yes. Not only does the traitor live, but she has joined another guild. Fairy Tail."

The silhouetted figure nodded to herself, still facing away from the grunt. "So, Lucy Heartfilia survived. And is now making a new life in Magnolia. This will not do. Send an assembled squadron as soon as possible, but don't make any moves against her just yet. I want her back alive."

**…**

Lucy gave a deep sigh as she approached her house, glad to see her comfortable abode after traveling for a full three days, with a few sides stops for resting. There was also that village they had stumbled upon when their hunger had been too much, so they had all tried to eat monsters. The look on Natsu and Gray's face had been hilarious, both boys looking as though they just ate from a toilet. Only Erza and herself had seemed to find the food acceptable, although the red-haired teen had recounted that she had the same sentiment towards the food as the boys had had. Personally, Plue and the blonde had eaten far worse meals, so the bite of monster soup she had made had been bearable.

By the time they had gotten back, it was rooted in the night, and everyone had looked like they needed a good sleep on an actual bed. Lucy excluded, of course. She and her little white fox were just as restful as any other day. However, it would still be nice to rest on the bed she had bought with her money.

Just as she was entering the house, she could feel Loke trying to telepathically communicate with her. Quickly emptying her mind and letting his voice in, she waited for his message. Loke would never talk like this unless it was important somehow.

_"_ _Hello, Loke. What do you need? Is something wrong?"_

_"_ _Not at all, Angel. Virgo has asked that I inform you that's she strong enough to come into the Earthland dimension and make a contract with you!"_

"Wonderful!" Lucy said out loud, knowing Loke could hear her. "Then let's get to it." Setting Plue down and grabbing Virgo's key, she twirled it into the air and made a swiping motion with it. "Open, Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!"

A golden light spread throughout the forest, lighting the night around her. When it was subdued, Lucy saw a skinny, pink-haired lady in a maid costume standing in front of her. The blonde noted that she also had shackles and chains on her arms and looked very innocent.

"Hello, Mistress Light," Virgo greeted her, bowing low before she looked up with an absent smile on her face. "I'm so happy to be in your services."

"The feeling is more than mutual, Virgo. Also, it isn't necessary to call me mistress. Just Lucy is fine." The blonde answered.

There was a moment when the celestial spirit pursed her lips in thought as she rolled over what she had said in her head. "How about Princess? Is Princess acceptable, Princess?"

Lucy sighed, yet she couldn't help but smile at her new spirit. She was quite a character. Plue couldn't stop shooting her a look of dark suspicion. "Okay, Princess is fine. Though, I can't help but wonder what happened to your other look?"

"Oh, that's just something I do for my summoner. Depending on what they consider appealing in appearance, I use my magic to shape myself into that very image. Do you not approve?"

Lucy gave a slow head shake, a smile still on her face. "No, you look beautiful. Now, is there anything you have any concerns about being contracted to me?"

"No, Princess, although I would so love it if you could punish me every now and then," Virgo asked casually. Lucy sweat-dropped at that. "Oh, is that so? I'll… think about it."

The pink-haired girl bowed to her again, her smile much warmer. "I look forward to working with you, Princess." And then she vanished in a burst of light. Lucy gave a short laugh at the maiden's attitude and Plue's disgusted expression as she moved to pick him up.

"Oh, come on, grumpy fur. She's nice. Give her a chance. I guarantee you'll like her more than you liked Aquarius." Laughing at Plue's expression now, they moved inside to get a good night's sleep.

**…**

Siegrain smirked to himself as the other council members formed a circle with him. After weeks of listening to the fools talk about troublesome guilds like Fairy Tail, mainly since they had found out that the mage Lucy Heartfilia had joined them, a meeting was now being called concerning the recent news about Lullaby and the dark guilds that continued to grow.

"The Eisenwald guild may have been defeated, but that a small victory on a much larger scale." The one-eyed geezer said, holding up Lullaby in his left hand. Adjacent to him, the blue-haired man could hear various members agreeing and making a suggestion. When one or two members had commented about the acquisition, Siegrain made sure to speak up with his signature smirk on his face.

"Whatever the case, although they are generally a thorn in our side, Fairy Tail proved to be quite useful in this situation." Ever his accomplice, Ultear chimed in as well. "They took down an entire guild with just a team of wizards. Quite an impressive feat, wouldn't you say?" Here, there was an eruption of arguments all around, mostly to deny any credit to Fairy Tail.

"Was Lucy Heartfilia present for this mission?" A random council member asked, evoking sudden silence in the room. Ultear glance once again at the paper in her hand. "My sources tell me that she, along with Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster, were the ones who stopped that beast that was sent to destroy the guild masters." And then another round of arguing was started, most of the members cursing Makarov's feat in convincing the blonde to join the most destructive and troublesome guild and refusing to bring her to them as well.

Siegrain spoke up again. "That's the reality of the situation, so you may as well accept it. In the end, the guild masters lived because of these wizards, and none of us had to give up our positions to save face."

Org spoke up just as the blue-haired man was being scolded for his harsh words. "Enough of this arguing! Fairy Tail's helpfulness concerning this matter and every other will always be overshadowed by their recklessness and complete disregard for the destruction they cause. And it seems they're now encouraging this kind of behavior from Lucy Heartfilia as well. Who knows what kind of damage will come from it."

"Then why not take this opportunity to discuss the matter with them? Kill two birds with one stone while we're at it." Siegrain suggested, a crueler smirk appearing on his face this time.

…

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I'm now back from a big adventure against Eisenwald. They had a plan to use a demon flute to kill the guild masters as retribution for the injustice they've suffered. Of course, my new team and I stopped them, and no one was seriously hurt. Most of the Eisenwald members have been arrested, except Erigor, but I'm not worried about that, so you shouldn't either. Also, the attack against the guild masters made big news, and now it seems as though everyone knows about our victory against the dark guild and the demon. Although the attention isn't such a big deal to me, I'm amazed to find I actually enjoy being on a team with Gray and Erza. Gray is an ice wizard whose somewhat stoic but still very much a good friend and teammate. Erza, while a little bossy, is healthy and beautiful. I enjoy my time with them, and I know I can trust them to fight for me, especially Natsu. The guild itself is full of vibrant and loyal people, and I sincerely love being a part of them. Please don't worry you two, I will be fine now no matter what._

_Love,_

_Your Lucy_

_P.S. Don't worry about my secret. If and/or when they do find out, I promise things will turn out okay._

Lucy sighed as she finished her letter, carefully folding it up and placing it in the elegant envelope she had on standby. Setting it in its place in her drawer, Lucy leaned slightly back in her chair, wondering out loud what she should do for the day.

It had been about three days since they've returned from their adventure against Lullaby, and things have been pretty quiet. The blonde hadn't seen Natsu once in that time, so she could only assume he was busy doing his own ideas. Plue was lightly resting on the couch, ready for her to finish so they could start the day.

Just as Lucy decided to do some grocery shopping, she heard someone talking to her from behind. "Wow, nice place you got here. Did you really build all this yourself?" The blonde turned to see Gray Fullbuster lounging on the love seat, dressed only in his underwear.

Smiling somewhat apologetically, Lucy replied, "Gray, while I accept you've come to visit me, and I appreciate that as a friend, I must establish my right of ownership and privacy by punishing you for the intrusion."

"Wait, what—" The black-haired teenager was abruptly interrupted as Lucy kicked him in the stomach. Hard. "Ow! Hey, could you let me explain things before you start attacking me?"

"I'm sorry, Gray, but my spirits and Plue say I should be more assertive with people regarding my living space. If I didn't take care of things, they would." The blonde cheerfully explained. Gray grumbled for a few minutes. "Nice leg strength. Anyway, I was here to remind you of what today was. I figured, with all that happened, you forgot."

"Forgot about what?"

Gray let out a long-suffering sigh. "Don't you remember Natsu's other condition? If he went on the mission with Erza, he gets another chance to fight her again when we're done. Well, we're done, so now the rematch can happen."

Lucy gasp quietly to herself. "Oh, I forgot about that. Let's go now." And then the three of the occupants of the house were out of there.

…

They made it through the crowd gathered in front of the guild hall, seeing Erza and Natsu facing each other with serious expressions on their faces. All around members and various onlookers cheered and screamed for the opponent they were rooting for, making noise throughout the streets of Magnolia.

"Wow, everyone sure seems excited this is happening," Lucy noted with wonder while Plue looked interested for once, probably because one of the people he pointedly despised was about to battle.

"Oh, hi Lucy. I didn't think you'd make it." Mirajane greeted at the blonde's left, ignoring her brother grumbling about the fight and manhood. "And yes, this rematch is heavily anticipated."

"Kick Flamebrain's ass, Erza! Mop the floor with him." Gray yelled gleefully from Lucy's right side, a smirk on his face at a remake of the fight from last time which had ultimately ended with Natsu losing badly.

"But won't this fight possibly break up the strongest team in Fairy Tail? Isn't anyone worried about that possibility?" Lucy inquired as bets placed all around her. Gray gave an uncharacteristic snort at that. "What, strongest team? Which idiot told you that nonsense?"

Lucy pointed to Mirajane who then started crying quite profoundly, making the ice wizard (who had somehow lost his shirt again!) begin frantically apologizing for his cold words.

The blonde turned her focus back to the two mages, mainly Natsu. She had only known the fire dragon wizard for a short while, but she could already tell that he was determined like no one else she had ever known. Once he had a mission in mind, he fought with everything he had to succeed and usually accomplished the tasks he set for himself. If this had been an enemy of theirs, Lucy would have had no doubt he would win that fight. However, from what she had seen of Erza, the scarlet warrior was deadly and robust and didn't seem like someone who could be taken down by ordinary means. This was undoubtedly going to be an interesting fight despite what the outcome would be.

"Hey there, Angel." Lucy turned to see Loke adjacent from her, striking a casual pose against the wall of the guild with one finger against his sunglasses. "I don't suppose I should be surprised you're here."

"Loke. I didn't think you were coming to watch the fight. I honestly thought you wouldn't care much for it." Lucy cheerfully explained as Plue moved from in her arms to nestle in her bag.

"Like I'd miss a fight like this. Even if we haven't been here long, I can already tell it'll be worth watching. I don't think I need to ask who you're counting on to win, do I?"

"Am I truly so predictable?"

"No. I just recognize the look in your eyes as the one you get when you think of him. You know he'll probably lose this battle, right?"

"That doesn't really matter to me, Loke. As his fellow teammate and friend, I will always support Natsu and his endeavors."

With that, the blonde turned her focus back to the oncoming match and yelled, "Go, Natsu! I believe in you." The pink-haired boy turned his head sideways to flash a confident and fanged smile in her direction, practically vibrating as he turned back to the other combatant, who was now sporting an outfit of black and red with pigtails.

Laughing as she saw Happy shamelessly betting against Natsu, Lucy turned her attention back to the fight once she noticed the Master suddenly appear and shout for round one of the matches to begin. The fight was a blur, the two mages moving faster than most of the audience could keep up with. Lucy acknowledged with each blow exchanged and blocked that Erza had the advantage so far. It seemed the flame empress armor indeed did make things harder for Natsu. However, the blonde had also seen Natsu at a disadvantage before and still win, so she still continued to cheer for him as the fight proceeded.

After a few moves involving swinging swords and bursts of fire, the two members jumped a few feet away from each other, pressing glares on their faces as they paused the match for a moment. Lucy could sense that both fighters were looking to end things in their next move, watching with bated breath along with the other members as launched themselves at each other, flames flaring dangerously as they moved towards each other with lightning speed.

However, before the final blow could be struck, a loud clap resonated throughout the street, causing the wizards and people all around to collectively freeze. They all turned to see a giant anthropomorphic frog in official-looking uniform standing little ways away, a platoon of Rune Knights following after her.

"This fight is over, Fairy Tail! Cease and desist at once. The Magic Council has sent me on their behalf to make an arrest."

"Wait, what?!" Gray screamed with righteous indignation. "Why the heck is the magic council arresting anyone here?" Other spectators were grumbling and protesting to the same tune. Ignoring the negative feedback, the frog proceeded to read from a prominent and majestic scroll.

"As a result of the Eisenwald incident, a member of the Fairy Tail guild has been charged with several counts of criminal property damage. For the destruction of the Clover Assembly Hall, and the majority of the wildlife around it, I've been charged to arrest one Lucy Heartfilia. Will the mage by the name of Lucy Heartfilia please step forward?" The frog gestured to the Rune Knights, two moving forward with magical binding cuffs and the others holding their staffs out in preparation for a fight.

"Huh?! You're arresting who for WHAT?! No way in hell!" Natsu yelled, moving in front of Lucy while the other members of the guild spoke in outrage and support of Natsu's stance.

Loke made his way to stand by her, quietly whispering into her ear, "Say the word, and we'll be gone. You don't have to do this."

For Lucy, however, the news that she was being arrested for something came as no surprise to her. Since her conversation with the Master about her feelings for the magic council, she had suspected they would resort to drastic measures to gain an audience with her. Or, more realistically, to force her to meet with them at last. She could see from Makarov's shocked and disapproving face that he hadn't realized they would take such actions. Despite the circumstance she was in now, she couldn't help but appreciate the third master's acceptance of her wishes. With all that in mind, she subtly shook her head at Loke, who gave a small huff in irritation but stepped back.

Placing a hand on Natsu's shoulder, Lucy gave a reassuring smile at the dragon slayer's concerned face before she turned to a stunned Mirajane, delicately putting Plue in her arms. He didn't protest, for he knew when it was time to be compliance, even if he didn't like it. "Please look after Plue for me, Mirajane. I'm sure this will be sorted out shortly." With that she walked forward past Natsu and Erza, stopping in front of the frog with a stoic look on her face.

"I'm here."

The Knights moved forward instantly, bounding her hands in magic-sealing cuffs. Then they lead her to the carriage, moving her to the back and getting themselves to the front. All the stunned members of the guild could only watch with quiet fury and sadness as the blonde was steadily lead away.

Natsu, in particular, was very upset, watching his new friend get taken away while clenching his fists at his side. _Ain't no way I'm letting Lucy be arrested. NO WAY!_

…

Around the guild, everyone was sitting about, brooding and pondering to themselves. The council has always had it in for Fairy Tail, mostly due to the constant destruction they caused all over Fiore, but this had been the very first time any of them had been arrested. And the newest member too! It didn't seem right or fair, but they could think of nothing to ameliorate the situation.

Erza and Gray, in particular, found it all so strange. After all, they too had been present and active at the battle by Clover Assembly Hall, causing a few bits of destruction in the fight with a demon. So why was it only the bubbly blonde the council was taking in? Why was Lucy the one they chose to blame for it? Mirajane was at the bar, watching as the blonde's white fox laid flat on the counter, a sad and anxious expression on his face (or the equivalent of those emotions on an animal's face). The white-haired mage wasn't sure if Lucy was the one to save her sister, but she could at least say the girl was a friendly and wonderful person with a lot of people who cared for her. If there was a way to help her now, she knew everyone would jump at the chance.

Natsu was currently trapped under a glass cup on the counter, having been turned into a pink salamander somehow, demanding freedom. "Come on, guys. Let me out of here already!" He screamed, flailing his arms frantically.

Mira shot him a stern look in response. "Natsu, calm down, please. Besides, if we let you out, you'll just go after Lucy and probably make things worse for her."

Ignoring Natsu's yells to refute the white-haired girl's statement, Gray spoke up, voice flat, "Even if any of us wanted to go help her, it's not like any of us could face off with the council. Despite the fact that we were saving lives when we used our magic to destroy the property, if the council deems us guilty, then we're guilty. And I guess they thought of Lucy that way, for some reason. They won't give a second thought to anything we say in her defense."

As everyone started grumbling to themselves and each other about how none of what happened made any sense, the members were shocked when Makarov suddenly spoke up, "Mirajane, be a dear and let Natsu out would you?"

Everyone turned to see that Natsu suddenly grew quiet, sweatdropping from within his little glass prison. Makarov questioned, "What's the matter? I thought you wanted out of there? Why so quiet now, Natsu?"

Rather than give the captive a chance to reply, the third master sent a light blast in his direction. A puff of smoke appeared in the room, eventually billowing out to show… Macao!

"Sorry, guys." He said, a sheepish smile on his face as he stood up and scratched the back of his head. "I owe Natsu and Lucy. He wanted my help sneaking away and I gave it to him."

"Are you nuts?! That pink-haired idiot will just make things worse!" Gray yelled, looking as though he was seconds away from strangling the man. "We must go now and stop him," Erza added, already headed for the door.

"Calm down, everyone. Unfortunately, we have no other choice but to wait until the council makes their decision." Makarov stated darkly, leaving everyone quiet and full of anxious thoughts.

…

Meanwhile, at the National Council Fiore Branch, Lucy followed after the frog as she led her to the council. The blonde was the picture of calm, seeming unworried about what was awaiting her. And she truly wasn't, as she already suspected what she was being brought in for and was already mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

When they were halfway down the white-pillared hallway, she stopped as she saw a blue-haired man with a red tattoo around his eye leaning against one of the pillars in front of her. He turned his head to face her, expression deceiving calm and slightly smug as he smiled at her. "Well, well. Lucy Heartfilia, I presume?"

The frog kneeled down, head to the floor as the man in front of her walked towards her. Lucy stared up at him defiantly. "And who, may I ask, are you? A member of the council, I presume?"

"Guilty as charged, little Lucy. I am Siegrain. It's nice to finally see you face-to-face. We've been so eager to meet you."

"So this is a farce? Orchestrated by the council to finally see who I am. Typical of you all, abusing your power to get what you want." Lucy scorned as she turned her head to the floor, expression clenched and angry. Siegrain laughed softly, looking even more amused as he walked till he was behind her.

"I see you've heard of us. You probably already know I'm not really here, neither are any of the other wrinkle-faced members. We're projections from Era, so you have no need to worry about much. We didn't think it necessary to personally attend to such a small matter. And believe or not, this wasn't about power. Blame has to go somewhere you know, and we may as well kill two birds with one stone by finally meeting the girl we've heard so much about." The man explained, voice full of malice as he stated the fact.

"Yes, I forgot. The matters concerning the people of Fiore are below you all. All that matters is what you want." Lucy scoffed coolly.

"Temper, temper. I can see making you a scapegoat won't be easy." Siegrain noted as he moved in front of her, turning around to address her one more time. "Well, I must join the other council members now. See you soon, Lucy Heartfilia." And then he disappeared right before her eyes.

The frog looked back up and faced her, looking significantly astonished. "Master Siegrain doesn't generally come down to personally address anyone. You must be quite special," she croaked. Lucy simply bowed her head and kept moving, face blank.

Soon, she was led to a large room where she could see seven people seated above and staring down at her. At their sides were two Rune Knights, weapons out and at the ready should such action be necessary. Which the blonde knew it wasn't, seeing as no one up there was really resent to address her. _Even more visual abuse of their power_ , she thought sourly.

"Thank you, Rune Knights and Frog Assistant. You may leave us now." While hesitant, the addressed worker left the room, leaving Lucy alone with the council. There was silence for a few moments when the two sides carefully scrutinized each other. The blonde wasn't worried even with her magic constricted, as she knew there was nothing these people could do to hurt her.

Eventually, an elderly and short man spoke up, sounding genuinely amused despite the current situation. "Hello there, little missy. You must be Lucy Heartfilia, it's nice to finally meet you. I am—"

Lucy cut him off, voice strong and cold, "—Councilman Yajima. Yes, I know who all of you are. At least, most of you. Belno, Michello, Org, Chairman Crawford… and Siegrain." She shot a glare at the blue-haired man, who was still smirking at her before she turned her brown eyes to the black-haired woman sitting by him.

The lady gave a gentle smile at her. "I am Councilwoman Ultear. I see you've heard of us, and yet, we only have a few rumors for information about you. It seems as though Master Makarov of Fairy Tail has been deliberately hiding you from us."

"Master Makarov was simply respecting my wishes. Believe it or not, I was not looking forward to parading myself for a bunch of power-hungry officials who feels as though they have any right to declare what's right or wrong." The blonde stated, resentment saturating her voice. She could feel the uneasiness coming from the members at her attitude.

"I see you're not particularly fond of the magic council. That's understandable. In fact, I don't think there's one wizard in Fiore that doesn't hate us." Ultear declared, understanding crossing her face. Lucy wasn't sure whether it was genuine or not. It seemed more like a careful performance, but the blonde could just be letting her bias could her judgment.

"However, these baseless accusations are neither here or there. We have called you here to get to know you and find out what's so special about you, some honor from you would be more appropriate. I suggest you have a more professional tone when addressing us!" Michello yelled out, probably trying to look more significant despite his small size.

"I'll speak how I want. Unless you're suggesting that I curtsy, in which case I'll have to decline. Sorry," The celestial wizard spoke, fake regret in her tone.

The one named Org stood up, looking frustrated, "I don't know who you think you are, girl, but don't think just because we have a personal interest in you or that you've joined the most destructive and law-breaking guild in the country that you can say anything you want! You will treat us with respect or we will **_make_** you."

Lucy could feel her anger building at the man's audacity. Who was he or any of these bigwigs to tell her how she was meant to feel. She could feel the air crackle and darken around her as she felt the bits of her magic go free despite the magic-sealing cuffs still on her hands.

"You don't control me, Councilman, so I suggest you put the notion that you ever could out of your heads," she said darkly, a small part of her enjoying the various expressions of anxiety on the council members' faces as they started to realize they may not know who they were dealing with.

"Is… is that?!" Crawford whispered, looking horrified down at Lucy as they felt the magic coming from her. "It can't be!"

Meanwhile, the celestial wizard worked to bring herself back to neutral levels, unwilling to let these officials have the satisfaction of making her so mad, she lost control. She took a deep breath, clearing her head of her anger. Before long, her expression was neutral again, although remnants of her anger still remained.

"Alright, how about we calm down?" Belno spoke up in an almost grandmotherly-tone. Lucy could feel her anger lessen more at the councilwoman's nurturing attitude. "This isn't meant to be a shouting contest. Now that we've officially met the woman, and we've established that further questions will get us nowhere, how about we proceed to the trail, shall we?"

Shaking off the phenomenal circumstances just then, Org spoke up in a loud and slightly raspy voice, "Very well. Lucy Heartfilia, you stand before the council to charges stemming from the incident concerning Lullaby and the guild Eisenwald, resulting in the destruction of numerous properties. For these eleven counts of damage, where numerous eyewitnesses reported seeing a blonde woman, we find you—"

Just then, the wall around her blew up, shocking her out of her angry completely. She turned to see Natsu, wearing a blonde wig that barely covered his pink hair and a white dress over his regular clothes. "Hey, you idiots of the council, it's me, Lucy Heartfilia! I'm the celestial wizard you're looking for, look how powerful I am!"

And then the dragon slayer began breathing fire all over the place. Lucy could see the council members were shocked and thoroughly confused as they stared down at Natsu and all the destruction being caused. The blonde could only stare at the poorly-disguised boy with open-mouthed shock before she broke and started laughing quite hysterically.

…

_Well, at least the cell is big_ , thought Lucy as she looked through the bars to stare at the stone hallway. The two of them had been arrested and thrown in jail, probably for the night, and Natsu was in front of her, screaming at the council to get them out.

"Hey, let us out of here, you bigwig bastards!" The dragon slayer yelled viciously. The blonde gave a little smile of amusement before she turned to face Natsu with a serious expression on her face and questions on her lips. "Natsu, what were you thinking? Why would you come here and try to pass yourself off as me?"

"Come on, Lucy, stop asking weird questions already! I did it so you wouldn't be arrested. It's not your fault all those properties were destroyed." The pink-haired teen replied. The blonde blinked at the boy with clear astonishment on her face.

"But this isn't real, Natsu. This is just a farce the council used to finally meet me face-to-face. Most likely, they would have declared me guilty and then sent me home without any real repercussions for the incident with Lullaby. There was no need for you to try to break me out." The celestial wizard seemed confused, unable to work out why the dragon slayer would do what he did.

"What're talking about, Luce? Even if this is all a fake thing, if any of my friends are ever in trouble, I'll always be there. That includes you, you weirdo." Here Natsu poked her nose, a grin full of teeth on his face.

Lucy could only blink a couple of times before a warm look appeared on her face. "I've never had that before."

"What? Friends?"

"Oh, no, I've had those before. I just never had ones who I could always count on to be there. Friends who will always be there when I need them." The blonde commented, lowering her face till her bangs hid her eyes, a small smile still on her face despite the sad remembrance in her voice.

The dragon slayer studied her for a moment before he said loudly, pride evident in his voice. "Well, now you have Fairy Tail. So you'll always know what it's like to have friends like that."

The blonde couldn't help the small giggle that left her mouth as she contemplated how wonderful her life was now. _Thank you, Natsu Dragneel. Thank you._

…

Natsu studied his yellow-haired friend as she slept on the floor, just by his crossed knees. After hours of thinking up good pranks to pull (with Gray in mind) and another hour of making shadow puppets, the girl had yawned and announced she would sleep for a while. After a happy goodnight, she had just laid down on the stone beneath them, peacefully slumbering the day away.

She was weird. That was like irrefutable fact. But the more he learned about her, the more he couldn't help but want her in his life even more. She was cheerful, compassionate and tough. Despite all the strangeness the members of Fairy Tail had, the blonde's seem to take the cake.

However, the pink-haired teen also noticed the little hints that showed Lucy's life wasn't all that happy or easy. Her casual remark on her past friends. The way she had attacked him and Happy when she had thought them to be intruders. The coldness on her face when she talked of the magic council. As though those jerks had let her down in a big way. The mysteries concerning her seem to grow bigger and bigger.

And yet, despite the unknown that surrounded the blonde, he couldn't and wouldn't abandon her. She was his friend and fellow team member now. And nothing would ever change that.

…

The next morning found the two jailed members of Fairy Tail released with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Lucy laughed as Natsu made sure to mock the rune knights to their faces.

Once the two of them made it back to the guild, she immediately embraced her furry friend while explaining to all the shocked and surprised members what had actually transpired. While she was conversing with Levy to assure the blue-haired girl of her well-being, Natsu had eagerly attempted to restart his match with Erza. Unfortunately, the older woman instantly ended the fight with a quick and powerful bonk on the head, rendering the dragon slayer unconscious.

It was while the blond was laughing at the pink-haired boy's antics with Gray (although the ice wizard's laugh had been more mocking) that she felt the presence of a powerful sleeping spell attempting to take effect. It took a bit of concentration but she was able to fight it off. Plue growled at the attempt, easily resisting the magic too. The other members weren't so lucky.

Watching as all her new friends fell asleep wherever they were, Lucy turned anxiously to the third master, the only other person she noticed the spell wasn't putting to sleep. "Master, I think we're under attack!" She turned to the entrance, putting Plue down and getting ready to fight.

The man seemed surprised but then began a small chuckle under his breath. "Well, well. You continue to surprise me, Lucy. You can even resist this magic, huh?"

The blonde, thoroughly confused by the Master's casual attitude, slowly lowered her arms. "Are we not under attack?"

"No, nothing like that. Mystogan just doesn't like anyone in the guild to see his face. He's self-conscious like that." A few moments later, the sound of footsteps could be heard. Soon, a man covered from head to toe in dark clothing entered the guild. He had multiple staffs on his back and one in his hand, all with powerful magic emitting from them. The blonde could sense the one he was holding to be putting everyone to sleep. The hooded man stopped abruptly once he noticed she was still awake and staring at him. Or perhaps he was wary of Plue, who was looking absolutely livid on the counter.

"It's fine, Mystogan. This is our newest member, Lucy Heartfilia and her little friend, Plue." Makarov introduced while visibly trying not to fall asleep.

Not sure if she trusted the man in front of her, but willing to give him the benefit of doubt if he was a member, Lucy smiled her signature closed-eye smile. "Hello. It's nice to meet you."

Nodding back at her, the man replied, "The pleasure is mine." Then he was moving, walking to the request board, grabbing one and then moving out of the guild as quickly as he could without running. Not long after his footsteps faded away, the guild members awoke again, most of them groggy and annoyed.

"Ugh, Mystogan again?" One of Levy's friends (she couldn't remember their names) groaned as he sat up on the table.

"Why does he always do that?" Another member (one of the glasses-wearing one's) asked out loud in an almost whining voice.

"Erza, why does Mystogan choose to put everyone to sleep? Surely his face couldn't be that horrific, could it?" Lucy asked the scarlet-haired girl.

"No one knows for sure why he insists on keeping his appearance a secret. All we really know is that he's one of the strongest members of Fairy Tail and that only the Master has seen his face. He makes sure to cast the spell so no one else could see it whenever he comes back to take another job." The warrior answered with just a hint of irritation in her voice.

"All true except one thing. I've seen his face as well. It's important that the rest of you respect his privacy" Everyone looked up to see a blond man leaning against the railing up the stairs. A cocky smile was on his face as he towered over them. Lucy recognized him. He was that man she had always seen lurking in the background with a brooding glare and the strong magic that made her hair frizz up a little. She had always smiled at him when he looked in her direction, but he only shot her annoyed and speculating glances.

Suddenly Natsu was up fist out and challenging smirk on his face. "Hey, Laxus. Me and you, let's fight now!"

An arrogant laugh spilled from the man's mouth. "If you couldn't beat the redhead, you'll have no chance of beating me, pinky. Might as well stop now while your dignity is still intact." Laxus taunted. Lucy could help but notice how Erza stiffened fiercely at that, an angry expression on her face.

Not to be deterred, Natsu came rushing towards the male blond on the second level. But, just as he made it to the stairs, a massive fist landed on his back and crushed him to the floor. "You're not allowed on the second floor, Natsu. Not yet, at least." Was the only thing the master said, prompting another mocking laugh from Laxus.

"Well, the old man has spoken, pinky. Probably made him grumpy with all the yelling." He taunted, ignoring the dragon slayer's fuming as he turned to address the remaining members. "The most powerful member of the guild isn't some creepy guy who refuses to show his face or some armor-obsessed redhead with anger issues. It's me, and don't any of you amateurs forget it."

Laxus turned to go back to his seat on the second floor, stopping just for a moment to shoot a leer at Lucy. The blonde barely stopped herself from flinching back at the knowing expression. Like he knew exactly what she was hiding. _He couldn't have found out. No one knows about it, how could he?_ She watched as Laxus disappeared, a little shaken and decided then and there to be more wary of the man. After all, it seems not every member of this guild had a heart of gold.

…

When the day finally came to an end, Lucy cheerfully walked home, Plue trailing after her with his tail held high. Despite the few negative things that happened that day, she did truly enjoy being in the guild and seeing everyone get so peeved on her behalf. It just showed her how much they cared for her, despite her having joined them recently. Maybe she had finally found a place she could call home. Found people she could trust with her secrets.

She thought of Natsu, who had gone after her and attempted to take any possible punishment she would have had for her. How he confidently declared he would never abandon her, that he and all of Fairy Tail would be there if she needed them. That's all she had ever wanted, and now that she had it, she wasn't sure what to do.

No one here knew the truth about her or Plue. Would it be right to stay in the guild and call herself a member when she was keeping such heavy knowledge from her guildmates? Natsu and the rest of the team had seen a hint of her true power, just chose only to ask after her wellbeing. Perhaps they sensed she wasn't ready to share just yet. Or maybe they really didn't care as long as she was okay.

She wasn't sure how to proceed, whether she should reveal her history to them or not. Would they turn on her once they knew? They didn't seem like the type of people to do so, but she had been wrong before. And what of Plue, her faithful and furry friend? Would they still be friendly once they found out about his origin?

Forcing herself to move on from such dark thoughts, the blonde gave a deep sigh as she saw her house up ahead. This wasn't a pressing issue right now. At the moment, she was happy and things were okay despite what she was keeping from them. Better to leave it that way for now.

Decision made, Lucy opened the door to her room, fully intending to get to reading some books she had acquired recently. Just as she sensed a familiar set of magic, she found herself greeted by the sight of Natsu and Happy, doing sit-ups and lifting weights on her bed.

"Welcome home," The dragon slayer groaned as he continued working out without a shirt on. Lucy absently noted how fit he was before she shot him an apologetic smile and said in a sing-song voice, "Natsu, while I enjoy seeing you, I'm afraid I'll have to assert my authority as the owner of the home by punishing you for coming in with my permission."

Then she kicked him squarely in the chest. After she set her stuff and Plue down, who seemed greatly amused by the sight of the pink-haired boy groaning on the floor, she cheerfully asked, "What are you two doing here?"

"We're a team now, Lucy. So if we wanna be better teammates, we got to train like one!" The dragon slayer exclaimed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Happy flew over, holding a pink dumbbell with his tail, exclaiming, "Aye, sir! We even got the pink ones because you're a girl, Lucy."

The blonde could only shake her head and give a small laugh before she began working out as well. Occasionally, Natsu would yell things about beating Laxus and Erza and getting stronger. Plue kept one eye open to her progress, lying on her bed passively.

Suddenly, the dragon slayer stopped, his voice serious as he got to his feet. "This team is ready for the big time. So, I've decided it's time we went on our first real mission together." He handed Lucy a flyer with the biggest grin on his face.

While the blonde was studying it, Happy gleefully added, "It's a job request to help a cursed island. We got this one with you in mind, Lucy, because beside seven million jewels, you also get a golden key. You can get another person to make appear."

"Really," Lucy asked softly, reading the words on the paper. Slightly confused by the big s on it, she turned back to the two boys. "What does the 's' mean?"

"Uh, well," The dragon slayer replied, sharing a slightly panicked look with his blue cat before he shot her another big grin, albeit a little forced, "Oh, that just means it's a secret mission. So, uh… you can't tell the others and we have to finish it soon so they don't come after us."

It took a liar to recognize a lie. And Natsu was lying, quite poorly in fact. On the other hand, the blonde was sure he had his reasons. If Natsu was attempting to prove himself by completing work he probably not allowed to do, most likely because he wasn't at the proper skill level or something, Lucy would do all she could to aid the dragon slayer on this dangerous venture. After all, he was her friend.

"Okay, then!" She said cheerfully, grabbing her bag and Plue and looking excitedly at her two teammates. "What are we waiting for?"

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter.


End file.
